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Iredell wreck kills 5 in family
SUV runs off U.S. 70 outside Statesville
KYTJA WEIR
kweir@charlotteobserver.com

A wreck amid rainy conditions just outside Statesville on Sunday afternoon killed five members of a family, leaving alive only a child who had stayed behind when the family went shopping.

The 13-year-old boy lost both parents, his 12-year-old and 7-year-old sisters and his 11-month-old brother.

It was among the deadliest single-vehicle wrecks in the Charlotte region in years. The children were not secured with seat belts, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The Lopez-Sosa family was about to celebrate the first birthday of the youngest, William. They headed to Hickory's Party City on Sunday to buy plates and cups for the party, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper D.J. Reid.

But on the way home, just two miles from Statesville, their 1996 Ford Explorer ran off the left side of U.S. 70, just east of Stamey Farm Road near the municipal airport. That's about 45 miles north of uptown Charlotte.

It was raining at the time. Reid said the sport utility vehicle was driving too fast for conditions, though was likely traveling at the posted 55 mph speed limit.

The SUV crashed down a 12-foot embankment at 3:40 p.m., overturned and landed in a creek.

When emergency crews arrived, they found the roof crushed against the slope of the embankment.

The youngest, William, would have turned 1 on Thursday, Reid said. He was belted into a child seat but the seat was not secured in the vehicle, the trooper said. The baby died at the scene.

The boy's father, Arturo Lopez, also died there. He had been driving the SUV and was wearing a seatbelt.

The oldest daughter, Cynthia, 12, died en route to Iredell Memorial Hospital, according to Iredell County EMS. Danira, 7, died once there.

It took an hour and 15 minutes to extract Lopez's wife from the wreckage, said Iredell County EMS shift supervisor Tim Martlock.

Irene Sosa, 35, was rushed to the same hospital, then taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem. But Reid said she died during surgery.

More than a thousand people die on N.C. roadways each year but it's unusual for so many people to die in a single-vehicle crash.

On Christmas Day, two people were killed in a head-on collision, one in each vehicle, on rain-slick roads in Rowan County.

At the end of 2003, seven teens from Statesville were killed when they crashed a Dodge Intrepid into a creek after a police chase.

The victims of Sunday's crash also lived in Statesville, sharing an apartment on West Front Street with extended family.

The parents and two oldest children were from Mexico, Reid said. The two youngest were born in the Statesville area.

The trooper visited the family's home Sunday and told the 13-year-old boy that his immediate family was gone.

Reid said he and investigators found the party supplies for William's birthday amid the wreckage. The boy told him the family was planning to celebrate the upcoming birthday together.