A local family was left in mourning on Thursday night after a father and son were involved in a fatal crash in Vass. The single-vehicle crash happened around 7 p.m. on Lakebay Road, just past Rooty Branch Road.
According to officials, a Ford Excursion traveling toward Southern Pines veered off the right shoulder of the road. The driver overcorrected, causing the vehicle to skid sideways across the road, struck a ditch, smash through a fence, and overturn twice before coming to rest on its roof.
Southern Pines Fire Department was dispatched for a second rescue due to both occupants being pinned in the vehicle; the vehicle being upside down made for an even more complicated extrication process.
The 16-year-old son from Vass was airlifted to a trauma center from a nearby landing zone and was reported to be in stable condition. The father, Anders Timothy Johansson, 43, of Vass, who was the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene.
~Article, video, and photo by Sandhills Sentinel reporter Daniel Gwyn. Daniel has been reporting breaking news for Sandhills Sentinel since 2020.
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