State Trooper Saved Woman's Life, Doctor Says

RALEIGH, N.C. — A North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper is being credited for saving the life of a driver involved in a crash in Clayton.

That's according to a statement by Dr. Steven Burkholtz at Johnston Memorial Hospital, who treated the victim following Wednesday's accident.

Patrol spokesman Lt. Everett Clendenin said Trooper J. L. Thorpe was on U.S. Highway 70 in Clayton when he saw a vehicle crash into a utility pole and several parked vehicles.

Thorpe ran to check on the driver, whose name was not released, and found her unresponsive and not breathing. With the help of an unidentified person, Thorpe removed her from her vehicle and began CPR until emergency workers arrived to the scene, Clendenin said.

The driver was taken to Johnston Memorial and later to Duke University Hospital, where she was listed in critical condition, as of Wednesday.