Head-on collision on NC 16 in Wilkes County kills Honda Civ…

Car Crash Wilkes North Carolina in Wilkes, North Carolina: On July 1, 2026, at 7:35 a.m., the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to a head-on collision on NC 16 North near Elisha Staley Road in Wilkes County. A 2025 Honda Civic driven by 21-year-old Obaldo Basaldua-Acevedo was traveling north when it crossed left of center and struck a southbound 2008 Ford Ranger driven by 60-year-old Martin Harry Halvorsen head-on. Basaldua-Acevedo was transported to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, where he died from his injuries. Halvorsen was also transported to the same hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The initial investigation did not suspect speed or impairment as contributing factors.