3 children, mother injured in morning wreck on Country Club Drive

Two children injured in a three-vehicle crash on Country Club Drive were listed in critical condition late Tuesday at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.

Those two and another child were passengers in a car that crashed head-on into a dump truck about 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, said Dan Grubb, a Fayetteville police spokesman. The wreck happened between Murchison and Rosehill roads.

The children's mother, Syreeta Fultz, 29, of Ruby Drive, was driving a Ford Fusion that crossed the center line and slammed into an empty dump truck, Grubb said.

The truck was driven by William Frazee, no age given, of the 500 block of Gimble Drive in Linden, Grubb said.

The truck was leased by DJP Trucking Co., according to a sign taped in the windshield of the cab.

A third vehicle, a minivan driven by Velvie Autry, no age given, of the 1700 block of Slater Avenue, received minor damage, Grubb said.

The wreck happened during heavy rain, he said, and police suspect that may have been a factor.

"It is too early to tell if speed was a factor, but we do feel that weather contributed to the accident," Grubb said.

The front end of the Fusion was destroyed by the impact.

Firefighters had to cut Fultz, who had multiple fractures, free from the wreckage, Grubb said.

She was stabilized at Cape Fear Valley and then flown to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, said Vince Benbenek, a Cape Fear spokesman.

Fultz's children are 8, 6 and 2, Grubb said. Benbenek didn't know which two were in critical condition.

Autry and her husband, John, also were taken to Cape Fear Valley, Grubb said, but their conditions were not known. They were not believed to have life-threatening injuries.

Country Club Drive was closed to drivers who were traveling from Murchison Road toward Ramsey Street until about 11:30 a.m., police said.