Two teens killed in Maxwell Hill wreck

Amelia A. Pridemore
The Register-Herald Reporter

August 14, 2007 10:36 pm

— Two 18-year-olds were killed early Tuesday morning after when their minivan crashed into a tree in the Maxwell Hill area, police said.
The 1995 Ford Windstar minivan was traveling on Maxwell Hill Road at 1:20 a.m. when, just north of Maxwell Hill Furniture, it left the roadway and crashed into a tree, Capt. Gordon Gregory of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department said.
The driver, Patrick Conner, 18, of Beckley, and the front-seat passenger, Johnathon Moore, 18, of Bradley, were killed, Gregory said. A back-seat passenger, David Nicely II, 18, of Beckley, was taken to Raleigh General Hospital for treatment. As of Tuesday afternoon, Nicely was in guarded, but stable, condition.
All three inside the minivan had to be extracted from the vehicle by members of the Bradley-Prosperity and Beckley fire departments, Gregory said.
The preliminary investigation has led law enforcement to believe speed could have been a contributing factor, Gregory said.
Other possible causes will have to be ruled out by further investigation.
The accident was investigated by Cpl. W.J. Crist, Cpl. Stan Ellison and Deputy J.L. Redden, Gregory said.
— E-mail: apridemore
@register-herald.com