Local teen electrocuted

Published 9:14 am Tuesday, January 14, 2014

COLERAIN – A local teen was apparently electrocuted near here early Saturday afternoon after initially surviving an auto accident.

Zachary Stoyer, age 13 of Cofield, died at the scene of the single vehicle crash that took place on NC 42 approximately two miles west of Colerain.

Local officials are waiting on the Medical Examiner’s report before listing an official cause of death. However, witnesses to the accident say the teen exited the vehicle just after the accident and stepped onto a live electrical wire that was downed due to the crash.

North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper C.W. Godwin stated in his accident report that Stoyer was among the six passengers in a 2003 GMC SUV driven by his mother, 31-year-old Amber Nichole Osborne of Cofield.

Osborne’s vehicle was headed west on NC 42 shortly before 1 p.m. on Saturday when it veered off the right side of the roadway, traveled through a ditch and collided with a utility pole.

Other than leaving the roadway, Godwin’s report showed no other contributing factors to what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

As of Monday morning, no charges had been filed against Osborne.

None of the other passengers or the driver suffered any reported injuries.

About Cal Bryant

Cal Bryant, a 40-year veteran of the newspaper industry, serves as the Editor at Roanoke-Chowan Publications, publishers of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Gates County Index, and Front Porch Living magazine.

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