WINDSOR – Two people were seriously injured in a vehicle collision here Monday afternoon.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Sterlingworth Street (NC 308) and the US 13-17 Bypass at approximately 4 p.m.

Law enforcement officials are not entirely sure at this point how the collision occurred, but Windsor Police Chief Rodney Hoggard said it had to have happened one of two ways.

“The first possibility is that one vehicle, a station wagon, drove straight through the stoplight on Sterlingworth Street and was hit by a truck. However, the more likely possibility is that the station wagon was turning left onto Sterlingworth Street from the northbound lane of US 13-17 and was hit by the truck,” Hoggard stated.

He continued, “Either way, the car ran the red light and the truck T-boned into the passenger door of the car, traveling at about 45 or 50 miles per hour.”

The truck, a 2007 Ford F-150, was pulling a trailer loaded with construction equipment. Hoggard noted that the trailer would have hampered the truck’s ability to stop quickly. No skid marks were present at the scene, indicating that there was no time for the driver of the truck to react.

The station wagon, a 1999 Subaru, was pushed 85 feet past the point of impact, with both vehicles coming to rest on the right-hand side of the road in front of Basnight’s Hardware.

John Olear Jr., 57, of New York, was the sole passenger in the Subaru. He was airlifted directly from the scene to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville. His wife, Mary A. Olear, was the driver of the vehicle. She was transported via ambulance to Bertie Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Pitt.

Emergency responders had to use the Jaws of Life to extract the occupants of the car.

Hoggard added, “We shut down the road for the helicopter to land so Mr. Olear could be taken directly to Greenville. It did not look good.”

The driver of the truck, Benjamin Cane Mummert, 26, of Winfall, and his two passengers were later taken by private vehicle to Bertie Memorial Hospital.

Hoggard stated there was no alcohol involved in the accident. A dog in the Olear couple’s station wagon, a Daschund, died as a result of the collision.

Investigating WPD officer Matthew Roebuck cited Mary Olear for failing to stop at a stoplight.

The condition of the couple is unknown at this time.