UPDATE: The Chapel Hill Police Department identified the deceased passenger in an alert on Monday. 20-year-old Mary Elizabeth Rotunda died in Sunday’s crash. Police also said 20-year-old Flemeeja Brewer was driving the vehicle and 21-year-old Brianna Pinson was the other injured passenger from the crash.
Both Rotunda and Brewer are listed as UNC students in the university’s directory, while Pinson is not. Chapel Hill Police said all three travelers are from Greensboro.
Monday’s update included that the cause of the crash is still under investigation. The original story published Sunday is below.
A passenger died after a vehicle crash in Chapel Hill during the early morning hours of Sunday, according to police.
A release from the Chapel Hill Police Department said officers responded to a single-vehicle crash at 2:23 a.m. on Sunday at the intersection of Raleigh Road and West Barbee Chapel Road. Police said the driver of the vehicle, who was traveling east, lost control and drove into the wooded area off of the road.
The intersection of Raleigh Road (NC 54) and W. Barbee Chapel Road in Chapel Hill. (Photo via Google Maps.)
Sunday’s release said in addition to one passenger dying from the crash, the driver and another passenger suffered injuries — which are non-life-threatening and are being treated.
The crash marks the second fatal crash near the intersection in the last year. In May 2023, a driver struck a tree along West Barbee Chapel Road that killed them and a passenger while catching the vehicle on fire.
Chapel Hill Police said Sunday’s crash remains under investigation. No other information is being made available to the public as of 10 a.m. on Sunday.
Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.
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The post Chapel Hill Police: Early Morning Crash Kills 1, Injures 2 appeared first on Chapelboro.com.