THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, August 7, 1994                 TAG: 9408070058
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: SLIGO                              LENGTH: Short :   50 lines

THREE DIE IN HEAD-ON COLLISION ON ROUTE 168 TWO PASSENGERS WERE IN STABLE CONDITION AFTER AN ONCOMING CAR ENTERED THEIR LANE.

The work week done, four friends tossed duffle bags in a Toyota and headed south from Annapolis, Md., Friday evening for a weekend on the Outer Banks.

But just minutes after they crossed the North Carolina line, and as they sang along with a tune on the radio, an oncoming jeep veered into their lane.

The impact left three people dead, including both drivers. A passenger in the Toyota also was killed.

``It was a real mess,'' said highway patrolman Mike Miller, who investigated the wreck.

The left sides of both vehicles were sheered from their frames.

Everyone involved was wearing seat belts and there was no evidence that anyone had been drinking or that either driver was speeding, Miller said. He suspects the driver of the Jeep may have fallen asleep at the wheel, although there's no way to know for certain.

The accident occurred at 1:35a.m. Saturday about 8 miles south of the Virginia state line on N.C. Route 168.

Miller said John Knauss, 18, of the first block of Jae Court in Moyok was heading north in a 1988 Jeep Cherokee.

The driver of the southbound Toyota Forerunner was identified as Christopher Robinson, 27, of Annapolis.

Riding with Robinson were Diane Gray, 31, John Taylor Boone, 19, and Grant Thornander, 23, all of Annapolis. They were en route to Corolla, Miller said.

Knauss, who was heading home, would have begun his senior year this fall at Currituck High School.

``Gray stated it was sprinkling rain and they were all awake and singing a song along with the radio,'' Miller said. Suddenly, the Jeep crossed the center line.

Apparently, there was no time for Robinson to react. ``There were no skid marks from either vehicle,'' Miller said.

Robinson, Knauss and Thornander were pronounced dead at the scene. Gray and Boone were flown by the Nightingale helicopter ambulance to the Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where both were listed in stable condition Saturday night.

KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC FATALITIES INJURIES by CNB