Former principal injured in accident

In the background, an EMScrew transports Malinda Patterson to a waiting Regional One helicopter after her BMW was struck by the “box truck” pictured at right. The driver of the truck has been charged with disregarding a traffic light.

A former Alma Elementary principal was seriously injured Thursday morning when her car was struck by a “box truck” whose driver allegedly ran a red light.

Malinda Patterson, 47, of 302 Hampton Blvd., Gaffney, was flown by Regional One to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center (SRMC) following the 8:15 a.m. accident at Hwy. 11 and Old Post Road about four miles west of Gaffney. She is listed in serious condition in the neurological intensive care unit, according to hospital officials.

“We’re sort of on a waiting game,” said Mike Patterson, Malinda Patterson’s brother-in-law, on Thursday afternoon from SRMC. “She has a lot of injuries. We don’t know a whole lot still.”

The Patterson family was at the hospital, but unable to speak with Malinda Patterson because of the severity of her injuries.

The woman served as Alma Elementary principal prior to becoming the Cherokee County School District math coach for elementary schools.

She is the wife of Wachovia Bank Senior Vice-President Rick Patterson.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Patterson was traveling south on Old Post Road when she attempted to cross over Highway 11. Her vehicle was struck on the driver’s side by a westbound 2004 GMC “box truck” driven by Donald Ray Cockrell, 39, of Wilmington, N.C. Cockrell, who is charged with disregarding a traffic light, was not injured, said SCHP Lance Cpl. Bryan McDougald.

One of the first persons to arrive on the scene was Mark Sanders, an employee of Watts Bros. Cable Construction of Spartanburg.

“The car caught on fire right after it quit spinning,” Sanders said. “We had a fire extinguisher in our truck and put the fire out but the driver’s door wouldn’t open and we couldn’t get the car turned off. We choked it down with a ‘jimmy stick’ and another woman entered the car on the passenger’s side and began talking to the driver who had been unconscious but came to and began screaming to ‘get her out.’”

Emergency personnel arrived at about that time and took over, Sanders said.

Patterson was trapped inside the vehicle until firefighters from Cherokee Creek and Grassy Pond fire departments as well as medics from Upstate Carolina Medical Center EMS assisted with extricating her from the 1996 BMW.

Both Patterson and Cockrell were wearing seat belts, McDougald said.