Icy Roads Blamed In Accident That Claims Life Of Linville Lady

Black ice in a shaded curve on Highway 221 was blamed for an automobile accident Thursday morning around 9 a.m. that took the life of a Linville woman. Kathleen Lowman, age 67, was killed in the single car accident that happened on Highway 221 about a mile south of Holloway Mountain Road and about seven miles from Blowing Rock. Highway Patrol troopers said Ms. Bowman was driving her 2001 Jeep Cherokee north on US 221 when she rounded a curve, hit a patch of black ice and swerved off the left side of the highway, hit an embankment and flipped over on its top. Crews from Blowing Rock Fire & Rescue as well as emergency units from Linville and Avery County responded to the call, and spent almost an hour in removing the victim from the mangled wreckage. The call for a helicopter to air fly the woman to a trauma center was cancelled once rescue efforts succeeded in reaching the woman and determining she was not breathing. Residents who regularly travel the route between Linville and Blowing Rock in winter say ice on the roads, particularly in shaded areas adjacent to waterfalls and creeks, are always slick on cold morning and many that travel the highway either wait until it has melted off or drive with a knowledge that there will be ice on the roads in places.