By BOB HIGH

A head-on crash in a light rain Friday night, Jan. 13, on Smyrna Road just west of Whiteville took the life of William Lloyd Martin, 72, of Smyrna Road, who was returning to his home after driving to the nearby Citgo convenience store to purchase a pack of cigarettes.

Highway Patrol Trooper Richard Capps reported Martin – the first highway fatality of 2006 in Columbus County -- was driving west within sight of his home at 7:58 p.m. when he veered left of center and struck a car head-on.

Capps said Martin’s vehicle was traveling an estimated 50 mph when it slammed into the vehicle driven by Annette Smith, 40, of Carucci Drive, Whiteville, and Smith was moving an estimated 40 to 45 mph at the time of the crash. “She tried to move to the right, but couldn’t get out of the way,” Capps noted.

Martin, who was not wearing his seat belt, suffered extensive injuries to his chest, and a passing motorist, who happened to be a registered nurse, went to Martin’s vehicle and began administering CPR to the man. “The workers from Whiteville Rescue were doing CPR on him when they left the scene,” the trooper added.

Martin was declared dead in the emergency unit of Columbus Regional Healthcare and died of chest trauma, according to Coroner Linwood Cartrette.

Smith was wearing her seat belt and escaped serious injury when her air bag deployed, Capps said.

Smith removed herself from the wreckage of her car by herself and was standing near the vehicle when another vehicle driven by Willie Earl Green, 44, of Smyrna Road, slammed into the wreckage within 90 seconds of the initial collision, according to Trooper Gene Nance.

Nance said Green didn’t see any lights on the Smith car and tried to stop at the last second, but hit the vehicle at about 40 mph. Green did not receive any serious injuries, the trooper noted.

Just after Green’s vehicle skidded into Smith’s vehicle the woman’s car exploded into flames and burned, Capps declared.

Martin’s death is the fourth road fatality within the past 36 days. One wreck in Whiteville killed an Old Dock man on Dec. 7, followed by another collision just outside the Whiteville limits on Dec. 13 that took the life of a Whiteville man, plus a rural crash on Dec. 26 that killed a 24-year-old man who lived near Southeastern Community College. See obituary, page 9-A.