According to Hamlet Police, the accident happened at about 11:30 a.m. Friday, and involved vehicles being driven by 63-year-old Eloise Pace, the child’s great grandmother, and 55-year-old Robert Cox Jr.
Both drivers are residents of Hamlet.
Hamlet Police Capt. Emory Griffin said Wednesday there is an on-going investigation into the accident.
The car being driven by Pace was occupied by five people, while Cox was the only passenger in the other vehicle.
“There are conflicting statements being given and no witnesses have come forward, so we are going to reconstruct the accident to determine who’s at fault,” Griffin said. “The (North Carolina) Highway Patrol will be assisting us with our reconstruction.”
Griffin said everyone in both cars filed a complaint of injury following the accident, and Hamlet Fire and Rescue and FirstHealth Emergency Medical Services responded.
Family members said Kourtnie Guest-Hansford was born in Philadelphia, Penn., but had lived in Hamlet for about a year.
“Her life shined for the three years that she lived,” great grandmother, and driver of the vehicle Guest-Hansford was riding in, Eloise Pace said Wednesday. “She will be dearly missed.”
She has been taken to Turay Funeral Home in Philadelphia, and there is a funeral planned for Monday. The owner said an obituary will be available in time to make the Friday edition of the Daily Journal.
Staff Writer Philip D. Brown can be reached at (910) 997-3111 ext. 32, or by e-mail at pbrown@yourdailyjournal.com.
Was the child securely in a car seat?
We see MANY kids jumping around the back seats of cars while driving in Rockingham. Also the way a lot of people pay attention to road signs makes me wonder why there aren't more fatal accidents.
Case in point. Going east on 74 business past the old Wal Mart. The RH lane says TURN RIGHT only. This means you have to turn right at the light, not drive through it at 60mph to get to Wal Mart. Someone will get killed there eventually.