Claremont– On Saturday, August 16, at approximately 11:10 a.m., the NC State Highway Patrol responded to and investigated a fatal collision in Catawba County on I-40 East near North Oxford Street (Exit 135). A 2007 Ford Focus traveling east on I-40 drove off the left side of the road and struck the guardrail. The driver then re-entered the roadway, drove off the right side of the road, and collided with a tree.
The driver, Kimberly Anne Brown, 47, of Black Mountain, succumbed to her injuries at the scene.
The initial investigation indicates speed and impairment were not contributing factors in the collision.