DATE: Saturday, July 19, 1997               TAG: 9707190309

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER LANGSTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   44 lines

SLEW OF ACCIDENTS SLOWS TRAFFIC, FUN INATTENTION, HEAVY SUMMER TRAFFIC ARE CAUSING ACCIDENTS, SAY AREA POLICE.

Summer traffic and inattentive driving contributed to several accidents that brought cars to a standstill on U.S. Highway 158 on Friday, police said.

``It generally boils down to people driving without their brains in gear,'' said Lt. Michael Jasielum. ``They were the normal rear-ender traffic accidents we have down here in the summer.''

Two accidents near the intersection of Colington Road and U.S. 158 around 11 a.m. shut down the main strip for about 45 minutes. The second collision occurred when a volunteer firefighter responded to the first.

``He was driving very responsibly . . . but his number just came up, and he was involved in a fender bender,'' said Jasielum. ``But together the accidents really created a pain.''

A baby was airlifted from the scene, but Jasielum said that is standard procedure whenever an infant is involved. Other victims were taken to the Outer Banks Medical Center and released.

A third accident on U.S. 158, in front of the Kill Devil Hills Police Department, caused the second major traffic jam of the day, around 3:15 p.m.

The nature of the accidents caused longer traffic delays than usual, police said. Because of potential injuries, officials had to wait for ambulances and emergency personnel to arrive.

``Usually we can get cars moved off the road and cleared quickly. . . . These just took up time,'' Jasielum said. ``It's about what I would expect from a Friday in July.''

Also Friday, on N.C. Route 12, near the Epstein Street beach access at Milepost 13.5, an unidentified cyclist suffered a head injury after falling off a bicycle.

The Nags Head Deputy Fire Chief Kevin Zorc said the cause of the accident, which occurred just before 6 p.m., is not known.

``He either fell off or was thrown off,'' Zorc said. ``The paramedics on the scene determined he had a head injury, and he was airlifted by Dare MedFlight to Chesapeake General Hospital.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color map

Outer Banks: Accident scene KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES OUTER BANKS

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