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AHOSKIE – The first traffic fatality of 2025 in the Roanoke-Chowan area occurred near here Monday afternoon.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol reports that 77-year-old Mildred Smith of Rich Square was killed in a two-vehicle accident at around 4:49 p.m. at the intersection of US 13 and Shortcut Road, north of Ahoskie.

In his report, Trooper Jarrett Hoggard noted that Smith was operating a 2011 Chevrolet SUV north on US 13. She stopped at the intersection and then turned left (southbound) into the path of a 2020 Freightliner tractor-trailer that was headed north on Shortcut Road. That vehicle was operated by 51-year-old Lashawn Roe of Suffolk, VA.

Hoggard’s report showed that the two vehicles collided in the intersection, causing both roads to be shutdown for 90 minutes.

Roe was reportedly not injured.

No charges were filed.

Other than the Highway Patrol, Hertford County EMS, the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office, and the Ahoskie Fire Department (Stations 1 and 2) responded to the accident scene.