LEXINGTON, N.C. – A Charlotte couple, who have been sweethearts since they met at Harding High School five years ago, died when their car went over a bridge near Lexington, in Davidson County.
Sherika Jameson said her brother, Shavalos, 21, drove up to Winston-Salem State University every weekend to pick up his fiancée, Simone McDuffie, 19. McDuffie was a freshman and a member of the school’s Army ROTC.
“They would travel back together and spend whatever time they could together,” said Sherika Jameson. “It's like two magnets trying to separate them, and you can't.”
Friday’s trip ended in tragedy. State troopers said McDuffie lost control of her finance’s car on Hwy. 52 in Davidson County, and plunged over a bridge onto Old U.S. 64 nearly 50 feet below.
The couple died, and Jameson’s step-brother, Trevon Rutherford, 16, is at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem in critical condition. He was riding in the back seat.
Sgt. K.G. Brown of the NC Highway Patrol said Rutherford was able to give troopers a statement about the accident, but the preliminary report points to driver error as the cause of the crash.
Troopers couldn’t find any apparent mechanical problems with the car, and don’t believe alcohol or other distractions – like texting or talking on a cell phone – were a factor.
Sherika Jameson said she heard about the accident when her finance picked her up from work. They headed straight to Winston-Salem, even unknowingly passing the accident scene on the way.
“We rode past the scene but all we thought it was just construction going on,” she said.
Troopers gave her the bad news at the hospital. She told NewsChannel 36 Saturday night that she is staying strong for the family, “because that’s what my brother would want me to do.”
She recalled how her brother would comfort her when she was upset.
“He told me to never cry about it -- just solve it, smile about it, and get through the day as much as I could,” she said.
He also told her “if anything was ever to happen to him, just be happy -- remember the great things about him and not the sad things,” she said. “That's what I'm doing.”
