WOMAN IS KILLED IN HIGHWAY 24 TRAGEDY

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jun 8, 2008 | by ANDREA BROWN

Christine McCord loved to cook.

She likely would have whipped up something Sante Fe-style for her family this weekend.

But the 54-year-old grandmother's life was cut short Friday night in a bizarre crash caused by a driver who police said may have been drinking. Colorado Springs police said a van driven by Troy Hauck, 33, hit the car McCord was in about 10:30 p.m. on U.S. Highway 24 several miles east of Constitution Avenue. "The paramedics said it was almost instant," Mac McCord said of his wife's death.

She was a passenger in a car driven by their 17-year-old son, Daniel. Mac McCord was ahead of them when a mattress in the back of his truck fell onto the road. Daniel pulled over to the roadside to help his dad retrieve the mattress while his mom waited in the car. "The flashes and blinkers were on," Mac McCord said.

The crash forced the car into Mac Mc-Cord's truck. The father and son were not injured. The family was taking the mattress to their eastern El Paso County home from Christine McCord's mother's former Colorado Springs house. Her mom, Margaret Walker, a longtime Mitchell High School teacher, died a year ago.

"We were cleaning out her mom's house to sell it," Mac McCord said.

Christine McCord did insurance billing for Colorado Springs Orthopaedic Group and was a member of Highland Park Baptist Church in Colorado Springs. "We've had a steady stream of people come visit us and support us," Mac McCord said Saturday. "I'm so rattled. It helps."

She had a son, Phillip Hayhurst, by a previous marriage when the couple married in 1989. A year later Daniel was born. The city girl moved to the county.

"She grew to enjoy the peace and quiet," Mac McCord said. "She thoroughly enjoyed watching the hummingbirds."

Another passion was her granddaughter Cordelia Hayhurst, 19 months.

Police said Hauck was evaluated for DUI at the scene. He was taken to Memorial Hospital and later to the Criminal Justice Center. Hauck is suspected of DUI, no valid insurance, careless driving and vehicular homicide. A court date is Wednesday. A Colorado courts background check showed Hauck had no previous offenses.

A memorial service is being planned for Christine McCord.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0253 or andrea.brown@gazette.com