SALISBURY — The fiery crash of a Dodge 1500 on West Innes Street at midnight Sunday has landed a 20-year-old man in the ICU of Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, according to his family.

Caleb Treadway, who grew up in the Rowan County area but who had lived in Michigan where he met his fiance, Molly, 19, had moved his young family back to Salisbury just after Helene, according to Molly’s mother, Sarah Lauback.

“He just started his job this past Monday,” she said, and Molly is a stay at home mother to their one and a half year old daughter.

An official report of the crash has not yet been released, but according to one witness, the red pickup truck and she were the only cars on the road at the time, and the truck passed her before losing control for some reason. The female driver said the truck flipped into a ditch on the side of the road and burst into flames. She said she thought the truck might have been speeding when it passed her, but NC State Highway Patrol has not released an accident report yet.

She immediately called 911. She struggled, she said, to process what had just happened in describing it to the dispatcher, but she did her best to explain it.

That same witness said other drivers had stopped to help and at least one man pulled Caleb from the window of the truck. Firefighters had to work to put the fire out. At one point, a neighbor said she saw what appeared to be a small explosion and the fire flared up again, but that was after the driver had been removed.

Initial reports were the truck was a Ford F150, but that information has been updated to reflect it was actually a Dodge 1500.

Firefighters and EMS arrived and called for a medical helicopter. Air Care One landed on the soccer field at North Hills School to take the person to Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem. North Hills School is on West Innes but connects to Sells Road, and EMS crews took Treadway to the helicopter through the gate on Sells Road.

Another witness, Kaiden Porter, said he was walking back from Catawba College when he “heard a loud car revving sound, then a crash and a pop, like a firework. I rushed over to the accident and there were five other people already there helping. Three of them pulled the unconscious man out of the car.” He said he heard a dog crying but knew the dog did not survive. He said the truck was “completely in flames” in the ditch. Family said Treadway had both of the family dogs with him. One died in the crash but one survived, ran away after the crash but was back home safe and sound Sunday.

Lauback said the couple were so new that they haven’t yet found an apartment, and were just making ends meet, having used their savings to make the move. They were “very resilient,” but right now, her daughter is distraught, because “she leaned on Caleb.” The couple has no family in the area, but she aid Treadway has a close friend who encouraged him to move down and go to work with him.

“Molly doesn’t have a job, and now they have no vehicle, and because he just started working they had no medical insurance,” Lauback said. “If he recovers, and right now we believe he will, it’s going to be a long time before he can go back to work.” She has started a GoFundMe for the family to help meet immediate needs while they figure out the next step.

“Molly told me he had gone out to get something for the baby, and minutes after he left, she looked at the clock and saw it was midnight and realized there probably was no store open,” said Lauback. “She thought about calling him but then decided maybe he would find something.” She said her daughter “had a sick feeling, and they live just up from where it happened, and the fire station is right there. When she heard the sirens go off, she checked his location on her phone and saw it was not changing and knew something was wrong.”

The Lauback family has suffered its share of losses in the past four years. Their home in Michigan burned down and another young family member passed away unexpectedly.

“I was talking with my own mom and I said we just need a break,” Lauback said. But she is convinced “God was watching out for Caleb, because this could have been so much worse.” He is not completely out of the woods yet, though doctors are optimistic. Lauback said he has been intubated, has numerous contusions, broken bones, cuts and currently, a brain bleed. He is in a medically induced coma to allow his body to heal, but they may have to work to alleviate the pressure.

Lauback, who is a nurse, said Treadway “is an amazing dad. He is one of a kind, loves to restore mechanical things in his spare time, and he and Molly are both very into nature. But his daughter is his baby girl, and she loves her dad.” She hopes that Molly and their daughter will help give Treadway the determination to heal.

Anyone who wishes to donate to help sustain this young family as they figure out how to move forward can find the GoFundMe here: https://gofund.me/0355237f

“When we lost our house, I was incredibly comforted by the way people came forward to help,” said Lauback. “I have spent my whole life caring for other people (she was a director of nursing during COVID) but never thought about needing help myself. When we needed it, though, people were there. I hope they will be for my daughter’s family, too.”