Moore teen killed in crash near Carthage

Kayla Lineberry, 16, of Cameron, was heading home from her boyfriend's house at about 8:45 p.m. when her car ran off the right side of Summer Hill Church Road, west of Carthage, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. She tried to get back onto the road but lost control of the car and ran off the side of the road again and into a tree.

Lineberry was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lineberry was home with her boyfriend, Zach Williamson, and her sister, Hannah Garner, when she asked to drive Williamson's pickup back to his house. Garner said her sister wanted a pickup of her own.

"She wanted to drive his truck home, and he said, 'No, it's raining,'" Garner said Friday. "She said, 'Well, you told me I could drive your truck,' and he was, like, 'Fine, you can drive my truck.'"

After dropping off Williamson, Lineberry hopped into her Toyota Corolla for the trip home, but the Corolla ended up wrapped around a pine tree.

"As soon as we got (to the crash site), I jumped out of my car and said, 'Where's my baby? Take me to her,'" said Lineberry's mother, Dana Garner. "They said, 'No, we can't take you to her,' and I said, 'Please, I have to hold her.'"

On Friday, a cross made of two-by-fours stood next to the pine tree, topped by a Bass Pro Shops hat.

Lineberry, a former cheerleader, loved the outdoors and was much tougher than she looked, according to her mother. She even played nose tackle on the Union Pines High junior varsity football team in 2012.

"She was determined. She was better than some of the guys," Dana Garner said. "They had a problem with it at first, but then she went out there and gave it 100 percent at every practice, and they saw what she was made of."

Lineberry left Union Pines High this year and was taking classes online to graduate early. Her mother said she wanted to join the military or work in law enforcement.

Despite her toughness, her sister said she had a genteel nature.

"The last few months, all she's been talking about is God. She wrote on Facebook, 'I thank God for everything,'" Hannah Garner said.

Troopers said the wet roadway likely was a factor in the crash, and they ruled out speeding, cellphone use and alcohol as factors. Lineberry was wearing a seat belt, they said.