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KELFORD – A fiery, single vehicle accident near here Monday afternoon resulted in the first motor vehicle fatality of 2021 in the Roanoke-Chowan area.

Akeem Boone, 25, of Lewiston died in the mishap, which occurred on NC 308 near the intersection of Piney Woods Road (RP 1201).

According to North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper J.V. Reid, Boone and an unidentified male were the occupants of a 2013 Infiniti passenger car.

“The other individual did not have any type of identification; we have an idea of who he is, but we are not releasing a name until his identity is 100 percent verified,” Reid stated.

He added that the survivor was transported by EastCare Air to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville.

Additionally, since both men were ejected from the vehicle, Reid is still investigating which man was behind the wheel.

What is known at this point, according to the Trooper’s report, is the vehicle was traveling west on NC 308 at a high rate of speed. Reid said just prior to reaching Kelford, the vehicle traveled left of center at which point the driver overcorrected. The vehicle then traveled off the right side of the road where it struck a ditch and overturned several times. The vehicle then struck a tree and a picnic table before coming to rest in the yard of a residence where it erupted in flames.

Reid estimated the vehicle’s speed at 80 mph at its first point of impact.

Units from the Kelford and Lewiston-Woodville volunteer fire departments responded to the accident scene, as did the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office, Bertie EMS, and Bertie Emergency Management.