Wilkesboro – On Friday, October 11, at approximately 12:40 p.m., the NC State Highway Patrol responded to and investigated a fatal collision in Wilkes County on NC 16 near Knollwood Drive. A 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling south on NC 16 crossed the center line and collided head-on with a northbound 2023 Ford Explorer.
The driver of the Jeep, Richard Wayne Earp, 71, of Taylorsville, succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The driver of the Ford, Rebecca McKinney Hamrick, 58, of Asheville, was transported by EMS to Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, in Winston-Salem, with life-threatening injuries.
The initial investigation indicates speed and impairment were not contributing factors in the collision. NC 16 was closed in the area for approximately two hours during the on-scene investigation.