Suffolk News-Herald

Sandra &uot;Sandy&uot; Eure Blowe, a local businesswoman and community volunteer, died Saturday night in a crash at the intersection of Route 11 and U.S. 158, just outside Winton, N.C.

Blowe, 42, part owner of Blowe and Spady CPAs, PC, a North Street accounting firm, was seated in the rear of a 2001 Ford Explorer being driven by Stephen Drew Piland, 20, of Eure, N.C. He was also killed in the accident.

Piland was also the driver in a 2001 accident that took the life of his mother, Renee Piland, while they were traveling in Wilmington, N.C.

His brother, 13-year old Cole Piland, was also injured in the Saturday night accident. He was released from the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters late Tuesday afternoon.

Blowe’s husband of 20-years, William &uot;Ricky&uot; Blowe, was seated next to his wife on the back seat of the Explorer and he also sustained injuries. He marks his 47h birthday today being released from Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C. He is an employee of Mid-Eastern Builders of Chesapeake.

According to North Carolina Highway Patrolman G.L. Bunch, Piland failed to stop the Explorer at the intersection on Route 11. A Purdue Farms tractor/trailer driven by Eddie Morris, a 49-year old Rich Square, N.C. resident, slammed into the side of the Explorer, causing it to flip over and settle on its side. The tractor/trailer veered off the highway and jackknifed into an open field. Morris sustained minor injuries and was treated and released from Pitt County Hospital.

Sandy Blowe was co-owner of the certified public accounting firm she shared with Frank A. Spady III. They established the business in December 1987.

A graduate of East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, she became a licensed CPA in North Carolina in 1984, and in Virginia in ’87.

Blowe was a board member and treasurer of Suffolk Festivals Inc. from 1989 to 1996. She also served as &uot;Peanut Fest&uot; Chairman in 1992, and was a co-chair in 1995.

W. Randolph Carter, an assistant Commonwealth’s attorney for the City of Suffolk, was one of many across the city who expressed sadness at the loss of Blowe.

&uot;She was a board member when I was named chairman of the Peanut Fest, and she was so helpful to me,&uot; said Carter. &uot;That was her way… to be helpful to everyone. She was truly a super person. She not only worked hard as chairman of Peanut Fest but also went on to support it after she was no longer chairman. She will be greatly missed by everyone who knew her.&uot;