The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

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May 29, 2009

Sophia wreck

Andrea Meador

Police say a woman and her 2-year-old daughter sustained nonlife-threatening injuries after hitting three parked cars and flipping over in a ditch in the Lester Square Shopping Center parking lot in Sophia Thursday morning.

Marcia Painter, 35, of Glen Daniel, is said to have suffered a medical problem while driving through the parking lot, Sophia Police Chief Tim Sweeney said. She hit the first vehicle head-on. Two people were in that car, but only minor injuries were reported. Her minivan then hit an empty car and one more parked car before she drove into a ditch about 100 feet away, flipping the car over.

Both she and her daughter were trapped in the car. The child was removed without any problems, Sophia City firefighter Mark Larkin said. But it took firefighters about 30 minutes to extricate the mother, using hydraulic rescue cutters to remove the roof of the van.

The child received bruising on the neck from the child safety seat and no major injuries were reported for Painter. Both were transported to Raleigh General Hospital.

No charges were immediately filed, and Sweeney is investigating. The Sophia City Fire Department assisted.

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