KINSTON - Geraldine "Gerry" Farron West Kean, 73, of 3303 Chris Street, Kinston, died Tuesday, September 9, 2008. Mrs. Kean attended Grainger High School and was a graduate of Pitt Community College with a degree in Human Resources. She was an active member of Ayden First Baptist Church and was retired from Peoples Drug in Alexandria, Va. Gerry was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Mary Bell West and her husband of 37 years, George W. Kean. Survivors include her daughter, Wanda Muncy Fortune and hus-band Mike, of Altamonte Springs, Fla.; sons, Joel Kean of Lake Mary, Fla., and Floyd Kean and wife Lou, of Ayden; sisters, Janet Sparrow and Sandra West Williams, both of Kinston; brother, Michael West of Snow Hill; grandsons, Alex Kean, Erik Kean, Bretly Muncy and wife Cherie, and Brant Muncy and wife Jessica; great-grandchildren, Darby Muncy, Daisy Muncy, Blake Muncy, Bryce Muncy, and Joseph Barnes; nieces, Mary Faasii, Renee Walker, Susan Lowman, Christle Dunn and Jennifer D'Alba; nephews, Pat Massaro, Koki Faasii, Jr., Richard Jarman, and Michael West; son-in-law, Bret Muncy. She also had many great-nieces and nephews. Gerry went to live with the Lord accompanied by her sister, Barbara Faasii. The family will receive visitors from 7-9 p.m. Friday, September 12, 2008, at Howard-Carter Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, September 13, 2008, at Northwest Christian Church with the Reverends Kenneth Rouse and Brad Parker officiat-ing. Burial will follow the service at Pinelawn Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements by Howard-Carter Funeral Home. Sign the guest book at www.kinston.com. Published in the Free Press from 9/12/2008 - 9/15/2008 Witnesses say there was “evidence of a medical problem” with driver before wreck September 9, 2008 - 9:45AM Justin Schoenberger Staff Writer Three people were killed Tuesday morning when a tractor-trailer ran a red light and plowed into their compact car at the intersection of U.S. 70 and N.C. 258 in Kinston. Barbara Faasii, Geraldine Farron West Kean and James Harvey Mewborn were pronounced dead at the scene. Faasii and Mewborn were Kinston residents and Kean, who was Faasii's sister, lived in Greenville. "We had an 18-wheeler crossing 70 on Queen Street," Kinston Department of Public Safety spokesman Woody Spencer said. "The car was turning east onto highway 70 and had a green arrow. "The 18-wheeler ran the red light and impacted the car." The accident happened at 9:11 a.m. Spencer said the driver of the tractor trailer, Aubrey Ray Weddle, a 67-year-old from Floyd, Va., was taken to Lenoir Memorial Hospital. Emergency personnel assisted Weddle into an ambulance on the scene, though he walked under his own power. Police said they were told by witnesses there was "evidence of a medical problem" with Weddle shortly before the crash happened. Weddle has been admitted to the critical care unit at LMH. So far, no charges have been filed against him. Kelly Dail was heading east on highway 70 toward Lenoir Community College from Goldsboro when she saw the crash. "I'm at the light to turn left toward downtown Kinston and it was my turn to go," Dail said. "It was a green arrow. The gentleman in that car went to turn and the next thing I know, two seconds later, this 18-wheeler truck comes through the intersection ... he just totally plowed over the man. "He hit him, and then (the truck) jumped over his vehicle." Dail, a student at LCC, said she was thankful to have avoided being part of the crash. "Whoever was in that car," she said, crying, "just saved my life." The wreckage remained through noon in the grassy median between the highway and south end of Queen Street, where the tractor trailer ran over a utility pole and knocked out power to the traffic signal. The trailer wheels were over the base of the pole, while the rear wheels of the truck still sat on top of the car. Wrecker and tow trucks initially helped to shift the rig off the car to allow emergency personnel to work. Several people wore white hazardous material suits. Traffic heading west on U.S. 70 was rerouted through Kinston via Queen Street and Vernon Avenue. U.S. 70 eastbound traffic was detoured at Skinner's Bypass to N.C. 11 south and onto Asphalt Road before being directed to Collier Loftin Road. Detours were taken down and traffic flow returned to normal at about 2:30 p.m.
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