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NC father of 2 dies in crash on washed out private road

A community is mourning the death of a father who drove off a washed out road Catawba County.

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Father of 2 killed in crash on 'bridge to nowhere,' troopers says
By
WCNC Charlotte
HICKORY, N.C. — A community is mourning the death of a father who drove off a private washed out road in Catawba County.
WCNC Charlotte reports Philip John Paxson, a father of two, was found dead in a Jeep that crashed Friday night on a collapsed bridge in the area of 24th Street Place Northeast, near Hickory. Troopers said barricades that were put up to warn drivers of the collapsed bridge were apparently removed, leading to the crash.

Paxson's friend found him the next morning, WCNC reports. Troopers found his 2020 Jeep Gladiator upside down and partially submerged in the water where the road was washed out.

Some community members added barriers after the incident and are calling for the county or state to do something about this roadway before someone else gets hurt.

The bridge was reportedly washed out during a storm in July of 2013. Neighbors said it was an accident waiting to happen.

Father of 2 killed in crash on 'bridge to nowhere,' troopers says

“He took a left and that left went to that bridge to nowhere, which is what they called it since 2013 when that bridge washed away and no one took responsibility to get that bridge fixed," Paxson's sister-in-law, Kayla Bubar, said.

Catawba County officials said "In North Carolina, counties do not maintain roads. In general, owners of private roads associated with subdivisions could be the subdivision developers, a homeowners association, or the property owners in the subdivision."

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