IFN Staff

A South Carolina woman was fatally injured in a crash on Interstate 77 on Thursday evening, according to the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

Troopers responded to the scene of the crash on I-77 near mile marker 49 about 8:30 p.m.

According to an NCSHP news release, a 2017 Freightliner tractor-trailer was traveling south in the right lane on I-77 when the driver — identified as Aniello Marro Chavarria, 56, of Statesville –failed to adequately reduce speed and collided with a 2012 GMC Denali SUV that was stopped in the right lane due to traffic. Following the crash, both vehicles became engulfed in flames, troopers said.

The driver of the GMC, Daniel Lawrence Heisig, 40, of Charlotte, was transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

A passenger in the GMC, Kimberly Taylor Cox, 60, of York, S.C., was critically injured and transported to Atrium Wake-Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where she succumbed to her injuries, according to the NCSHP. Three dogs in the vehicle also succumbed to their injuries.

Chavarria was not injured.

According to the initial investigation, impairment does not appear to be a contributing factor. Upon completion of the ongoing investigation and consultation with the District Attorney’s office, charges are pending.

During the on-scene investigation, I-77 was closed in the area for approximately four hours.