A two-car accident on U.S. 74 near Sylva June 20 left a Cherokee man dead and two others injured. James Jenks, 27, the passenger in a 1993 Pontiac, was killed after being thrown from the vehicle. According to N.C. Highway Patrolman D.A. Robinson, Jenksą brother, Shane Edward Jenks, 23, was driving east on U.S. 74 near Dicks Creek Road at about 5:45 p.m. when he said his vehicle hydroplaned, crossed the center line, went over the median and struck another 1993 Pontiac (foreground) driven in the west-bound lane by William Authur Bird, 45, also of Cherokee. The Jenks vehicle went off the westbound shoulder after the collision, flipped and came to rest on its top, the officer said. Shane Edward Jenks was charged with exceeding safe speed and misdemeanor death by vehicle. He and Bird were both treated and released at Harris Regional Hospital. - Photo by Dale Nations |