CORAPEAKE – Gates County’s first motor vehicle death of 2017 occurred near here late Friday afternoon.

Deborah Ann Nuckles, 43, died a short distance from her home on Union Branch Road (RP 1305) southeast of Corapeake.

Nuckles was alone in her vehicle, a 1999 Ford passenger car, at the time of the single-car crash.

According to a report filed by North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper J.G. Williams, the accident occurred at approximately 5:40 p.m. in front of a residence at 336 Union Branch Road, just south of the Savage Road intersection. Nuckles resides at 139 Union Branch Road, less than one mile from the scene of the accident.

The NCHP report shows the vehicle traveling north at which time it traveled off the right side of the road, struck a ditch and then collided with a driveway culvert, causing the car to overturn.

In his report, Williams noted that Nuckles was not wearing a seatbelt. She was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene.

What caused Nuckles to lose control of her vehicle remains under investigation, according to NCHP First Sgt. Rodney Sawyer.

The fatality was the 12th of the year in the NCHP’s Troop A / District II area (Bertie, Gates and Hertford counties).