FRANKLINVILE N.C. – A vehicle accident on Thursday evening on US Hwy 64 near Foxfire Rd claimed the life of one person with a second person being airlifted with life-threatening injuries.
Just after 5 pm on Thursday, June 8th, 2023, emergency crews along with Randolph County EMS and Ash-Rand Rescue responded to the report of a crash that occurred on US 64 at Andrew Hunter Road in Randolph County.
According to a press release from the N.C. Highway Patrol, the driver of a Toyota Camry and was stopped at a red light at the intersection of US Hwy 64 and Andrew Hunter Road when another driver, in a 2002 Toyota Avalon, failed to reduce speed striking the rear of the Toyota Camry.
Troopers identified the driver of the Toyota Avalon, which struck the stopped vehicle, as 74-year-old Claudia McGee Deal of Conover, N.C.
Deal died on-scene and the other driver suffered serious life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill.
The Highway Patrol says the investigation is on-going and it’s unclear at this time as to why Deal failed to reduce speed to avoid the crash.
All westbound lanes of US 64 near Andrew Hunter Road were closed for approximately three (3) hours during the investigation. Troopers cleared the scene at 8:29 p.m.