A Whispering Pines man died in a single vehicle accident in Southern Pines Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency responders were dispatched to a vehicle accident at 2:36 pm on Niagara-Carthage Road at the intersection of North Connecticut Avenue.

The first arriving fire units reported a vehicle on fire with the victim outside of the car on the ground.

According to fire officials after the Saab passenger car crashed through a guardrail and came to a stop off of the road bystanders pulled the victim from the car before emergency units arrived when the vehicle began to catch on fire.

While one team of responders began resuscitation efforts on the man, a second team attacked the fire in the engine compartment of the passenger vehicle quickly bringing it under control.

After the arrival of paramedics it was determined the accident victim was deceased at the scene of the wreck. He was identified by officials as 77 year old Thomas Allan Dyer from a Martin Drive address in Whispering Pines.

According to authorities it is believed that Dyer may have had a medical emergency prior to the wreck causing the accident to occur. 

Niagara-Carthage Road was blocked to traffic in both directions for an extended time period while the accident was investigated and the vehicle removed from the edge of the roadway.

Responding to this accident were units with Southern Pines Fire & Rescue, Moore County EMS, Moore County Sheriff’s Department, NC State Medical Examiner Office, and the NC State Highway Patrol.

The accident and death remained under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office and the NC State Highway Patrol as of this report.

(Updated: February 27, 2018 5:15 pm)