The North Carolina Highway Patrol said it has positively identified the third person killed in a single-vehicle crash from just north of Hillsborough town limits on Tuesday night.
A release from the state agency on Thursday said its investigators, the Orange County Medical Examiners Office, and the victim’s family confirmed Robert Leon Hester of Cedar Grove as the third adult in the wreckage of a minivan that crashed while driving on NC Highway 86. The identification and correction came after Highway Patrol and other officials said Anthony Bowman of Hillsborough was among the deceased, before issuing a correction on Wednesday clarifying he was not.
Shortly before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 57-year-old Francesina Alveta Whitted of Durham was driving south in a 2011 Chrysler Town & Country minivan near Coleman Loop Road. According to the state troopers’ investigation, Whitted crossed the center line of the highway, traveled left off the road to the left, and struck a tree. According to the update shared on Thursday, speed was not a factor in the crash and impairment is not expected to have played a part — barring official medical confirmation.
Whitted, as well as Hester and 31-year-old Ayesha Edwards of Mebane, died on scene from the wreck. Investigators said Thursday Hester was not wearing a seatbelt, while Whitted and Edwards were “properly restrained” in the vehicle.
The Highway Patrol’s release on Wednesday added that a pediatric patient was in the car as well, and suffered “serious life-threatening injuries.” The child, later identified as a two-year-old, was transported to Duke University Hospital in Durham for treatment.
In addition to state troopers and EMS responders, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Orange Rural Fire Department had units on-site to help with the rescue, initial investigation, and traffic control. According to law enforcement on Tuesday, NC Highway 86 was reopened to normal traffic around 7:35 p.m.
Thursday’s update from the North Carolina Highway Patrol said the wreck remains under investigation.
Featured photo via the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
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