Mom, 3-year-old killed as driver tries swerving to avoid head-on wreck, NC police say

Two people were killed — including a 3-year-old child — and another was seriously injured Monday in a head-on crash in Western North Carolina, according to law enforcement.

Harley Marie Taylor, 22, died at the scene, Highway Patrol said in a news release Wednesday. Her 3-year-old son, Bentley Taylor, was critically injured and brought to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he died Tuesday.

The incident unfolded around 7:15 p.m. on U.S. 221 near Shatley Road in Ashe County, a largely rural area of Western North Carolina.

State Highway Patrol said a 2005 Honda CRV driven by 65-year-old William Calhoun was traveling south on the two-lane highway when he “drove left of center” and hit a 1985 Ford Mustang. Taylor was sitting in the front passenger seat of the Mustang, and her son was in his car seat in the back.

“The initial investigation indicates the driver of the Ford swerved to the left in an attempt to avoid the Honda,” Highway Patrol said in the release.

Hunter Luther —the 23-year-old driver of the Mustang — walked away from the crash uninjured, according to the release. Neither he nor Taylor were reportedly wearing their seatbelts, but the child was properly restrained in his car seat.

Law enforcement didn’t specify Luther and Taylor’s relationship with one another.

Highway Patrol said Calhoun, who is from nearby Laurel Springs, was taken to the hospital in a medical helicopter with serious injuries.

“Charges are pending the ongoing investigation and consultation with the Ashe County District Attorney’s Office,” law enforcement said.

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