Elderly couple dies in I-40 wreck

Benson, N.C. — An elderly couple from Durham died when their car ran off the side of Interstate 40 East, south of Benson Friday afternoon, the state Highway Patrol said.

Thomas Charles Key, 78, was driving when his vehicle ran off the right side of the highway, near mile marker 334, shortly after 3 p.m., troopers said. The car went down an embankment and flipped over.

Key and his 73-year-old wife, Shirley Creech, both died in the wreck.

They were the only people in the car and were wearing their seatbelts, troopers said.

Authorities have not released the cause of the wreck.