Taylorsville Man Dies In Friday Crash

Richard Wayne Earp dead at 71

News Lincoln Herald Staff 2024-10-13 (0) (1604)

WILKESBORO––A Friday afternoon crash proved fatal in Wilkes County.

According to Master Trooper Christopher Casey of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, at about 12:40 p.m., NCSHP personnel responded to and investigated a fatal collision on NC-16 near Knollwood Drive. A 2000 Jeep “Grand Cherokee,” travelling south on NC-16, crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a northbound 2023 Ford “Explorer.”

Casey continues that 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, sustained life-threatening injuries. Hamrick was transported by EMS to Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, as Casey informs.

“The initial investigation indicates speed and impairment were not contributing factors in the collision,” he adds. “NC-16 was closed in the area for approximately two hours during the on-scene investigation.”

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