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GREENSBORO — The 23 boys and girls in Mrs. Hodgin's kindergarten class wrote farewell notes to their friend Friday.

They taped those messages to balloons and took them to the Pleasant Garden Elementary School playground. They released their final goodbyes to Nancy Wicker, sending the messages into the endless blue sky.

Wicker, a teacher's assistant at Pleasant Garden since 1993, died Tuesday of injuries she suffered in a single-car crash last weekend. Her husband, who was driving the car, is charged with driving while impaired.

The Highway Patrol said Wicker, 48, of 8 Kempton Drive in Greensboro was a passenger in a car that crashed Sunday morning on N.C. 22 in Randolph County.

She died of her injuries two days later at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.

"Nancy was a very loving, kind, generous person," said kindergarten teacher Marty Hodgin, who had worked in the same room with Wicker for the past two years. "The children adored her. She was very positive, and she always had a positive attitude with the children."

Wicker's husband, Howard Bradley Wicker, 29, of the same address was treated at UNC Hospitals and released, the Highway Patrol said.

He is charged with driving while impaired, driving left of center, having an expired tag, exceeding safe speed, having an open container and careless and reckless driving.

The Highway Patrol said no additional charges have been filed since Nancy Wicker's death, but the investigation is ongoing, and more charges are pending.

The Highway Patrol said a green 2005 Volvo sedan was traveling south on N.C. 22 east of Randleman at 11:38 a.m. Sunday. The car was approaching Old Red Cross Road when Howard Wicker lost control on a curve. The car crossed the center line, then ran off the right shoulder.

The car struck an embankment and hit several trees before coming to rest on its roof.

The Highway Patrol said Nancy Wicker was wearing a seatbelt and that both speed and alcohol contributed to the crash. No other vehicles were involved.

Nancy Wicker's death came as a shock to the Pleasant Garden school, Hodgin said.

"We'd been together for two years. The parents loved her. The children loved her," Hodgin said. "I've been getting a lot of support from the community and the school. We were co-workers, but we were friends, too. We laughed a lot, and we had fun at our job."

Hodgin said all three of her own sons had class with Wicker, who used to work as a first-grade teacher's assistant.

"She was a very positive influence on a lot of kids' lives," Hodgin said.
"It's just heart-breaking for all of us."

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com

Contact John Newsom at 373-7312 or john.newsom@news-record.com