At about 1:20 a.m. last Monday (May 1), the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to a fatal collision in Watauga County on U.S. Highway 421 near Ward Greene Road. The deceased is 52-year-old Dena Lawrence Comer of Elk Park.

The accident occurred when a northbound 2011 Buick Enclave on Highway 421 ran off the right side of the road, struck a boulder, overturned, and came to rest on the passenger side in a creek. Ms. Comer, who was driving, was critically injured and was transported by E.M.S. to Watauga Medical Center in Boone, where she succumbed to her injuries on May 4.

Ms. Comer was restrained by a seatbelt. The Highway Patrol’s preliminary investigation indicates impairment as a contributing circumstance in the collision. During the on-scene investigation, the roadway was partially closed in the area for approximately one hour.