Two people were seriously injured in an accident on Buffalo Shoals Road in Catawba on Tuesday after a woman ran a stop sign and collided with a tractor-trailer, authorities said.  The driver of the vehicle, Sherry Shook, was pinned inside her black Honda until rescuers used the Jaws of Life to cut the car door off to free her.

Shook, 50, of Newton was driving northbound on Little Mountain Road toward Newton about 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday when she ran a stop sign and struck a tractor trailer truck as she crossed Buffalo Shoals Road, Highway Patrol Trooper C.M. Trouille said.

He said according to witnesses and the evidence, the car spun around several times before it stopped in the road.  The front of the vehicle was crushed and Shook’s feet were pinned in the floorboards. Shook’s daughters, Cassie, 14, and Mylenda, 17, were in the rear seats and Mylenda’s boyfriend, Allen Pruitt, 19, of Lincolnton was in the front passenger seat.  Trouille said they were all able to get out of the car.

Firefighters from Bandys and Catawba Volunteer Fire Departments cut her free with the Hearse Jaw’s of Life.

The impact forced the tractor-trailer, driven by Jose Rivera, 57, of Lincolnton, about 150 feet up the road before it came to a halt.  He was driving for Metrolina Landscaping of Charlotte.

It had just begun to rain when the accident happened, however, Trouille said the rain had little to do with the accident.

“There were no skid marks.  Even on the wet pavement there would be skid marks if she tried to stop,” Trouille said.  “The main factor in inattention.”

At the hospital, he said Shook told him she was talking to the children and failed to see the stop sign.

All four were transported to Catawba Valley Medical Center.  Mylenda and Allen received minor injuries while Sherry and Cassie’s injuries were serious but not life threatening, Trouille said.

Shook received a citation for failure to stop at the stop sign.