Mother, 3-year-old son die in head-on collision along NC highway, troopers say
An Indian Trail mother and her 3-year-old child were killed when their SUV crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a pickup truck early Wednesday, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said. The crash also injured two other people.
Allison Faith Presley, 20, and son Aiden were northbound on Highway N.C. 16 near Mount Ruhama Church Road in Catawba County around 3:20 a.m., when their 2007 BMW X3 crossed the double-yellow line and struck a pickup truck, according to a highway patrol statement. The pickup went off road and overturned, the highway patrol said.
Presley and Aiden died at the scene, troopers said.
The initial investigation suggests Presley may have fallen asleep while driving, troopers said. All occupants were wearing seatbelts. Aiden was in a car seat, but troopers say it was not properly installed.
Another passenger, 21-year-old Blake Evan Linstead Breneman of Newton, suffered minor injuries. The driver of the pickup, Jerry Vang, 30, of Denver, N.C., was transported to a local hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The wreck forced officials to close N.C. 16 for about three hours. It happened in a construction zone, but the highway patrol said the accident was unrelated to any ongoing work.
