Woman dies after driver goes wrong way on NC road

HICKORY, N.C. -- A North Carolina woman has died and two people were hurt after a man drove the wrong way on U.S. 321 and slammed into a pickup truck. The Hickory Daily Record reports that 71-year-old Daisy Mae Christopher Buff died Tuesday in Catawba County after her husband drove the wrong way on the highway's off ramp and headed north in a southbound lane. Seventy-five-year-old Jessie Peter Buff of Catawba and the driver of the truck he hit, 60-year-old Howard Helton, were flown to hospitals where they were in critical condition. Officials say alcohol was not involved. Southbound lanes of 321 were closed nearly two hours as crews worked to clear the accident. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)