Richard Wayne Earp Obituary, Death; – One individual lost his life, and another sustained serious injuries in a collision that occurred in Wilkes County on Friday afternoon, as reported by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Officers from the Highway Patrol arrived at the scene of the accident on NC 16 near Knollwood Drive at 12:40 p.m. on Friday. They discovered that a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee had crossed the center line while heading south and collided head-on with a 2023 Ford Explorer traveling north.
The driver of the Jeep, 71-year-old Richard Wayne Earp, succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The driver of the Ford, 58-year-old Rebecca McKinney Hamrick from Asheville, was taken to Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where she is being treated for life-threatening injuries.
The Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation indicated that neither speed nor impairment played a role in the cause of the crash.
