Email
Print
Family mourns
Woman killed by car as she checks mailbox; Newton man faces multiple charges
Alan Rogers
Stephen Kennedy talks Friday about his fiancee, Tamara Wallis, outside the home they shared with her family on N.C. 16. Wallis was struck and killed by a car Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: September 6, 2008
NEWTON - Stephen Kennedy struggled to control his emotions as he told the story of the first time he met his fiancee — Tamara Wallis.
Wallis and daughter Alexandria were at Chuck E. Cheese's in Hickory when Kennedy, 38, there with his daughter Sierra and twin sons Matthew and Zachary, met and hit it off. Their friendship blossomed and three years later they were engaged. Last weekend they were discussing honeymoon destinations — Wallis was partial to cruises and Disney World.
Wednesday night Wallis, 29, was struck and killed by a car while checking the mailbox in front of her home on N.C. 16 in Newton.
Jonathan Caleb Burke, 28, of Newton, drove the Saturn that killed her, according to N.C. Highway Patrol reports. He has been charged with felony death by motor vehicle, felony hit and run/failure to stop with personal injury, hit and run with property damage, and two counts each of DWI and reckless driving to endanger. He also was charged with misdemeanor child abuse. His bond was set at $60,000 secured.
After leaving the scene of the accident, Burke went home and got into his 2003 Ford truck with his 5-year-old daughter and 8-year-old son, then got into another wreck, said Highway Patrol Sgt. T.E. Robinson. Burke ran off the road and through a cornfield before going back home. A neighbor saw the incident and called the Highway Patrol, which investigated the wreck and issued Burke's second charges of DWI, and reckless driving to endanger that night.
He was charged with misdemeanor child abuse because, "He placed his children at great risk," Robinson said.
Kennedy said Wallis had gone to pick up her youngest brother, Tim, 19, from Catawba Valley Community College on Wednesday night. When they returned home, Wallis stopped the truck in her gravel driveway so her brother could load the empty trash cans from the roadside into the back of the truck. As Tamara Wallis began to make her way to the mailbox, Tim Wallace felt the rush of wind from a car passing extremely close to him and continuing down the highway.
Kennedy said Wallis saw the mailbox fly through the air but couldn't see his sister in the dark. Unable to find her, he raced to the house calling for his mother, Susan Scherer, and Kennedy to come help him search.
As Kennedy described the scene, cars continually drove by on the heavily travelled two-lane road past the crookedly re-attached mailbox.
On Wednesday night, the searchers shined the vehicle's headlights toward where Wallis had last been seen and Kennedy spotted her shoe in the driveway and her pants beside the mailbox post. Then he saw his fiancee lying badly injured in the grass.
Struggling with emotions, Kennedy could only say, "It wasn't pretty."
Highway Patrol Sgt. T.M. Daniel said Burke was driving 60 mph in a 55 mph zone when he struck Wallis. According to the accident report, she was found 135 feet away from the point of impact.
Kennedy said when he found her, Wallis had no pulse and wasn't breathing. He preformed CPR until EMS crews arrived and took over. They transported Wallis to Catawba Valley Medical Center. When Kennedy arrived, "The doctor came over to see me but I already knew what he was going to say. She was dead," he said.
Wallis' death has left her 5-year-old daughter, Alexandria, without a mother. She had also become a mother to Kennedy's children, Sierra, 8, and 6-year-old twins Matthew and Zachary.
"She was the center of the universe for this family," Kennedy said.
Wallis' family is working to find ways to turn their tragedy into something positive for other people.
"Tammy was an organ donor and we did donate her eyes. The way she died — there wasn't much else they could use," Kennedy said.
They also are planning to join the fight against drunk drivers while doing everything they can to keep the man accused of killing her behind bars.
"We want to make it as difficult as possible for this kid to buy his way out of this," Kennedy said. "We want justice to be served."
Burke's grandparents, Udeen and Nancy Burke own Christian Tours in Newton. They too are grieving for Wallis and her family.
"The only thing I can say is that we are devastated for both families. We are grieving for both families," Nancy Burke said.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
