Troopers Sgt.V .C. Whitley of Wilkes County (right) and Sgt. M.A. Davidson of the Western Accident Reconstruction team in Hickory look over the vehicle Robert Allen Bramblett was driving on Nov. 18 when he struck a guardrail and was ejected from the passenger-side window. Bramblett apparently died from injuries sustained inthe accident, but his body was not found until family members searched for him on Sunday.

Wreck victim found by family Sunday after fatal accident last Thursday

A 20-year-old man was fatally injured in an accident Nov. 18 on N.C. 18 north near the Crab Creek bridge, but his body was not discovered until Nov. 21 when family members found him while searching the area where the accident occurred.

Robert Allen Bramblett, 20, who had a Virginia driver’s license listing an address in Elk Creek, Va., was an employee of the Sparta Burger King. According to family members, Bramblett left work on Thursday around 4 p.m. and was not heard from again.

State police investigators were at the site of the incident Monday afternoon reconstructing the accident.

Bramblett had been living part time in Elk Creek with his mother, Susan Meachum, and stepfather, Joe Meachum, and part time in Galax, Va. with his stepbrother, John Meachum, said Joe.

Family talks about finding victim

Family members of Robert Allen Bramblett’s family were the first to discover his body on Sunday after leaving from the Alleghany County Law Enforcement Center to look for him.

The family called to report him missing on Saturday, but had not officially filed a missing persons report, according to information from the Alleghany Sheriff’s Department. The family had also inquired about filing such a report in Grayson County, Va., a report from that department shows.

Family members coming to Alleghany to look for Bramblett were his stepfather and his mother, Joe and Susan Meachum of Elk Creek, Va., his stepbrother, John Meachum of Galax, Va. Also helping were Robert “Bobby” Goss of Lansing and Maria Thomas of Elk Creek, both friends of the family.

The family earlier had lived in Laurel Springs before moving to Grayson County.

Early on, the family knew Bramblett was missing, but were not aware that he had an accident in Alleghany County. Bramblett worked at Sparta’s Burger King Restaurant and had attended one year of high school at Alleghany High before transferring to Grayson County and then later moving to Miami, Fla. Law enforcement records show the vehicle he was driving at the time of his accident, a 2003 Mitsubishi, was still registered in Florida. However, Bramblett’s license showed an address in Elk Creek.

Joe Meachum said his stepson was staying part time at his stepbrother’s house and part time with his mother in Elk Creek. “He had just left work and was on his way home when he had the wreck.”

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