An afternoon drive through the High Country ended in tragedy Thursday when a 21-year-old Statesville woman lost her life in a traffic crash. Veronica Grace Virtue was driving along North Carolina Highway 105 near Dove Acres just before 3 p.m. when the collision occurred.
State troopers reported that Virtue was at the wheel of a 2014 Mitsubishi passenger car heading south on the two-lane highway. As she neared a private drive, she attempted to make a left turn across the northbound lane.
A northbound flatbed truck traveling up Highway 105 struck the Mitsubishi directly during the turn. The force of the impact crushed the driver’s side of the small car, bringing both vehicles to a stop in the roadway.
First responders arrived at the scene around 2:52 p.m. Emergency crews worked to free Virtue from the wreckage and evaluate her condition. Paramedics transported her to Watauga Medical Center in Boone for emergency medical care.
Doctors and medical staff attempted life-saving measures, but Virtue died from her injuries at the hospital shortly after arrival. Family members and friends in Statesville received the heartbreaking news later that afternoon.
The driver of the flatbed truck was uninjured in the collision. State troopers closed Highway 105 in both directions for roughly an hour to conduct a field investigation and clear the road.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol completed its preliminary report later in the day. Investigators confirmed that neither alcohol nor speed were factors in the crash, and no charges will be filed against either driver.
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