Winnabow | A 16-year-old high school student was killed Tuesday morning in a two-car crash shortly after she left her home while on her way to school.
State Highway Patrol 1st Sgt. Al Morris said Brittany Elizabeth Brendle, of 1272 Cherry Tree Road in Winnabow, died in a two-vehicle accident. Brendle's car was struck while turning left at the stop sign at the intersection of Crabapple and Green Hill roads in Winnabow, about a mile west off U.S. 17.
Brendle's vehicle, a late-model Volkswagen, was hit by a 2000 Ford Ranger traveling east on Green Hill Road and driven by Matthew T. Morgan, also 16. The accident occurred about 7:15 a.m., Morris said. Neither vehicle was traveling at excessive speed, he said.
Brendle died at the scene, the trooper said. Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
Morgan was "shaken up" but uninjured in the crash and was not taken to an area hospital. After giving his statement to authorities, Morgan told the trooper he was returning home and would later go to a hospital if needed, Morris said.
In reconstructing the accident, Morris said Brendle apparently was distracted as she turned left, or west, onto Green Hill, directly into the path of Morgan's truck and was struck broadside. The road was clear and dry and the sun was up, Morris said, and residual morning fog is not believed to be a factor in the accident.
"She was probably on her way to school, or to pick somebody else up on her way. She didn't yield as she should have," he said. "Her car took a pretty good lick."
Each driver was the only occupant of their respective vehicles, Morris said. As both lived in the Winnabow area, both Brendle and Morgan would be students who attended South Brunswick High School, he said.
Morris said according to Highway Patrol statistics, the accident marked the 27th fatality so far in Brunswick County in 2007.
