Autopsy: Pilot Died of Injuries in Clayton Crash

Clayton, N.C. — An autopsy report on a pilot whose plane crashed into a Clayton restaurant in September showed he died on injuries in the crash and not from any medical condition.

Garry Stephen Reid, of Galivants Ferry, S.C., died Sept. 21 when his single-engine 1947 North American Navion crashed into the front of McCall's BBQ and Seafood restaurant, at 10365 U.S. Highway 70 West. Reid was headed for Culpeper, Va., officials said. Clayton police said he had moved from Virginia to South Carolina.

No one else was injured in the crash, which occurred about an hour before the popular restaurant was scheduled to open for lunch.

An autopsy report said Reid, 54, died of “multiple blunt force traumatic injuries.” There was no alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, according to the autopsy report.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the crash. In a preliminary report released in October, the NTSB said Reid didn't file a flight plan when he left the Conway-Horry County Airport in South Carolina about an hour before the crash, and he never contacted any air traffic control operators during the flight.

Witnesses said the plane banked as it approached 40-foot-high power lines near the restaurant. The plane came to rest upside-down inside the restaurant.

The owners of McCall's have said they hope to reopen sometime in the spring.