A fiery head-on collision on 15-501, outside of Aberdeen, resulted in two victims being airlifted Saturday.
One of the victims that was airlifted to a trauma center was Elijah McCormick who graduated hours earlier from Pinecrest High School.
The crash occurred just south of the intersection of Hwy 15-501 and Pinebluff Lake Road at 1 p.m. involving two vehicles.
Immediately after the crash, other drivers stopped their cars and rushed to the aid of the victims.
The Toyota sedan was on fire, and bystanders pulled McCormick free from the wreckage. The other vehicle, a Kia Sorento, had smoke coming from the front end of the car. Fire crews extinguished the blaze upon arrival.
The drivers of both cars were taken by ambulances to the Pinebluff ballfield to be airlifted to a trauma center, with the McCormick in critical condition.
The passenger of the Kia was transported by EMS to Firsthealth Moore Regional.
Hwy 15-501 was completely shut down for an extended amount of time while crews worked.
The NC Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the accident and have not released the other victims’ names.
This is the second accident within four days involving a Pinecrest High School student. Senior Dennis Dequan “Quan” Purcell was fatally injured Tuesday evening in a motorcycle accident in Hoke County.
Responding to the scene were Pinebluff Fire & Rescue, Aberdeen Fire & Rescue, Southern Pines Fire & Rescue, Moore County EMS, Pinebluff Police Department, and the NC Highway Patrol.