SALISBURY — Authorities aren’t sure what caused a Saturday night single-vehicle collision that killed a Salisbury man.
David Lewis Wood, 54, was traveling north on U.S. 601 when his Mercury Mountaineer ran off the roadway to the right, down a steep embankment and struck a ditch.
The sport utility vehicle was approaching an intersection at Young Road, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper C.J. Doty.
There was severe damage to the front end of the vehicle, he said.
Wood was traveling the posted 55 mph speed limit.
The trooper said there was no indication Wood tried to brake. His front and side airbags did deploy. Wood died instantly.
Neighbors told troopers they heard a loud boom Saturday between 10:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., but no one called authorities.
The vehicle was not visible from the roadway, Doty said.
“It was 20 feet down the embankment in some trees and small brush,” he said.
A passerby who spotted the vehicle called 911 shortly after 9 a.m. Sunday.
It is unclear if Wood fell asleep at the wheel or there was another contributing factor. Officials haven’t confirmed alcohol as a factor, but did say Wood’s fiancee told them Wood had one beer at a family gathering the night before, Doty said.
Wood left the gathering and went to McDonald’s with his fiancee and her daughter sometime around 10 p.m. They drove separately. He was supposed to arrive at his fiancee’s home, but never made it.
Doty said Wood’s fiancee drove U.S. 601 Saturday night, but did not see the vehicle. She happened to be driving along U.S. 601 on Sunday morning, the trooper said, as the vehicle was being pulled from the embankment. Officials are awaiting a toxicology report.