Woman hospitalized from ATV wreck

Aug. 09--A Surry County woman remained hospitalized Friday with injuries suffered in a four-wheeler accident on Haystack Road earlier in the week. The crash resulted in her being airlifted to an area trauma center and numerous charges against the ATV driver, including DWI.

Wilma Sheppard, 30, of 119 Haystack Road, was riding on the vehicle that was being operated by John Land, 46, who reportedly lives at the same address but formerly resided in Lowgap.

"She was not wearing a helmet," Surry County Emergency Services Director John Shelton said regarding the victim of the accident, to which paramedics and the N.C. Highway Patrol were dispatched between 5 and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

"And we airlifted her from Northern Hospital to Baptist Hospital," Shelton said of rescue personnel. At the time she was transported to the Winston-Salem facility, Sheppard was in critical but stable condition.

"I think she's stable now," Shelton said Friday in updating the woman's condition.

Land, meanwhile, who also was not wearing a helmet, suffered only minor scrapes and scratches.

Trooper Austin Beck, who investigated the incident, said Friday that Land was illegally operating the all-terrain vehicle on Haystack Road near Dinosaur Lane when the accident occurred.

The vehicle ran off the road and came to rest against a fence, with Sheppard seriously injured in the process.

"She was supposedly riding on the front rack," the officer said of Sheppard, a finding that was based on witness accounts.

Land has been charged with about 14 violations, including driving while impaired, felonious serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving to endanger, operating an ATV on a public road, operating an ATV in a careless manner, unsafe tires, no helmet, failing to maintain lane control, no registration, no registration plate, an inspection violation and no insurance, among others.

He is scheduled to appear in Surry District Court on Oct. 13.

Tom Joyce may be reached at 336-415-4693 or on Twitter @Me_Reporter.

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