Woman loses arm in Cumberland wreck

Troopers said they determined that Harold "J.R." Currie, 32, was driving about 80 mph in a Lincoln Navigator when he crossed the center line, tore through a ditch and overturned in the 10200 block of Collier's Chapel Church Road outside Linden around 3 a.m. Sunday.

At the salvage yard where the SUV was parked Monday, a beer box and beer cans were visible inside the vehicle.

Currie's girlfriend, Jennifer Brooke Marbell, 28, of Erwin, was riding in the passenger seat when the wreck happened. Currie said Monday that they were returning from a birthday party and were arguing when he lost control of the vehicle.

Marbell was tossed from of the car and landed behind it. She lost her right arm and suffered internal injuries. She was in critical condition Monday after being flown to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

Troopers said that Currie, who sustained minor injuries, was outside the SUV when they arrived, and he claimed that Marbell was the driver and that he, too, had been thrown from the vehicle.

However, troopers said they determined that Currie had been driving, got out of the car after being partially ejected, and called 911.

Currie was charged with driving while impaired, careless and reckless driving and driving without a license. Troopers said his Massachusetts driver's license was suspended.

Currie said he was disoriented and scared when he told troopers he wasn't driving. He said he's extremely upset over the wreck and called it an "unfortunate accident."

He said he didn't feel impaired when he left the party.

"If I felt like I was too drunk to drive, I would never have gotten behind the wheel," Currie said.