ALLEGHANY COUNTY, N.C. — A first-year Wilkes County teacher died in a head-on crash after running into a deer in Alleghany County Tuesday morning, troopers say.
North Carolina State Highway Patrol said it happened on NC-18 near NC-88 around 6:45 a.m. They said a 2016 Ford F150 was driving north on NC-18 and lost control of the wheel after hitting a deer and crossing the center line, running into a 2011 Ford Ranger.
26-year-old Ethan Todd of Laurel Springs, the driver of the F150, was taken to a hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
30-year-old Joseph Brenden Edwards, the driver of the Ranger, did not survive.
Wilkes County Schools said Edwards was a 7th-grade science teacher at Central Wilkes Middle School.
The school district released the following statement:
He was in his first year teaching at Central Wilkes Middle School and had become an integral part of the Falcon family. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family as well as the Central Wilkes Middle School students and staff.
Troopers said both drivers were wearing seatbelts.
An investigation determined impairment was not a contributing factor.
The roadway was closed for over two hours following the wreck.
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