Two Pulled From Burning Wreck Near N.C. Station

Dec. 14, 2010
BELMONT, N.C. -- A 23-year-old woman and her 3-week-old son were pulled from a burning SUV after crashing into a tree near a volunteer fire department. Kathy Lamberth lost control of her SUV on Sunday afternoon, crashing into a tree on Perfection Avenue in Belmont. The vehicle caught fire, trapping Lamberth and her newborn son, Landen, inside. Kathy Lamberth said at one point, she decided to reach around, grab her son’s car seat and throw him from the SUV.

BELMONT, N.C. --

A 23-year-old woman and her 3-week-old son were pulled from a burning SUV after crashing into a tree near a volunteer fire department.

Kathy Lamberth lost control of her SUV on Sunday afternoon, crashing into a tree on Perfection Avenue in Belmont. The vehicle caught fire, trapping Lamberth and her newborn son, Landen, inside.

Kathy Lamberth said at one point, she decided to reach around, grab her son’s car seat and throw him from the SUV.

“I thought as long as he made it, I was happy,” she said.

Lamberth’s family lives three houses away from the scene of the crash and saw the fire. A family member ran to the nearby volunteer fire department and alerted firefighters, who were gathered at the Community Volunteer Fire Department for a Christmas party.

“They picked a good day to have an auto accident,” Chief Gary Jackson said.

He added: "This was a situation of seconds, not minutes."

Firefighters ran to the SUV and pulled Lamberth and her son to safety. Lamberth was taken to Carolinas Medical Center for treatment and is expected to fully recover. Landen was not hurt in the crash.

“(I) just thank Jesus for being in the vehicle with her,” Douglas Lamberth, Kathy’s husband, said.

“(The firefighters) were our guardian angels,” Kathy Lamberth said.

Copyright 2010 by . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Voice Your Opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Firehouse, create an account today!