Vilas– On Saturday, September 6, at approximately 8:50 p.m., the NC State Highway Patrol responded to and investigated a fatal collision in Watauga County on US 421 near Vanderpool Road. A 2003 Ford F-250 traveling south on US 421 failed to adequately reduce speed and collided with an electric bicycle, which was also traveling south on US 421.
The bicycle rider, Joseph Clyde Butler, 39, of Vilas, was ejected from the bicycle and critically injured. He was transported to Atrium Wake-Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he succumbed to his injuries on September 7. Butler was not wearing a helmet.
The driver of the Ford, David Bruce Woodring, 58, of Boone, was not injured.
The preliminary investigation indicates excessive speed was the contributing factor in the collision. During the on-scene investigation, the roadway was closed in the area for approximately three hours. Charges are pending upon completion of the ongoing investigation and consultation with the Watauga County District Attorney’s Office.