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Investigators are trying to figure out why a woman’s SUV veered off an Iredell County road Saturday night, crashing into a trailer and sparking a fire that left the driver dead.
N.C. Highway Patrol Troopers identified the woman as 39-year-old Danelle Merrill, of Harmony.
Merrill’s 1990 Jeep Cherokee was traveling north on Jericho Road about 20 miles north of Statesville around 10:19 p.m. when it crossed the center line and veered off the left shoulder, said Trooper S.L. Williamson, who is investigating the wreck. The SUV crashed into a parked trailer of a business, then burst into flames.
“She just ran off the road for no reason,” Williamson said. “Straight off the road.”
There was no indication that Williamson had been speeding. The speed limit on that stretch is 55 mph. A light rain had begun to fall in the northern part of Iredell County around 10 p.m., Williamson said, but troopers don’t believe the roads were slick. There was also no immediate indication that Merrill had been drinking.
The medical examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine if Merrill had some type of medical condition that caused her to lose control of her SUV, Williams said.
