ASHEBORO N.C. – Officials say a driver was killed in a vehicle crash Monday morning that closed Hwy 134 for several hours.
At 11:20 a.m. on Monday, March 6th, 2023, the State Highway Patrol responded to the report of a crash that occurred on NC 134 at Center Cross Church Road.
Troopers say 58-year-old Balvantbh Thakorbhai Patel, of McLeansville, N.C., was traveling west on Center Cross Church Road in a 2021 Toyota Highlander. Patel failed to stop at the intersection at NC134 and was struck by a truck-tractor, pulling a semi-trailer.
Patel died on-scene. A front seat passenger in Patel’s vehicle sustained serious life-threatening injuries and was flown from the scene by AirCare to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill. The driver of the tractor-trailer was uninjured.
NCDOT set up detours in the area to reroute traffic while crews worked most of the afternoon clearing lumber from the roadway that the truck was hauling at the time of the crash.
NC 134 was closed for approximately five hours during the investigation with Troopers clearing the scene at 4:02 p.m.