I-79 ACCIDENT VICTIMS IDENTIFIED

(09/26/2007)
A Clarksburg elementary school speech therapist was among the victims in a Braxton County car crash that claimed the life of two family members and left two more seriously injured.

The accident had I-79 closed near Burnsville Sunday afternoon.

Paula Kirkwood, a 36-year-old who worked at Adamston Elementary school, and her 6-year-old son Ryne died.

Kirkwood's husband, Sean, and the couple's 9-year-old son Padrag were also injured in the accident.

Police said the boy is still in critical condition at Charleston Area Medical Center's General Hospital.

The Kirkwoods' van was traveling northbound on the interstate when a pickup truck, towing a trailer, blew a tire in the southbound lanes and veered across the median.

The trailer came loose and hit another vehicle, injuring a woman from Pennsylvania.

The driver of the truck and a passenger were injured and taken to Braxton Memorial Hospital.