WILKES COUNTY, NC. (THECOUNT) — North Carolina sisters, Cassandra Elizabeth Gilbert and Madison Grace Gilbert, of McGrady, have been identified as the victims tragically killed in a Thursday head-on crash in Mulberry.
Cassandra, 16, was operating a Ford Freestyle after 4:30 p.m., when she attempted to pass a school bus and collided head-on with a GMC pickup truck, driven by Michael Shane Miller, 43, of Millers Creek.
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The resulting crash killed Cassandra and her 12-year-old sister, Madison, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Troopers said Cassandra was in a passing zone on Sparta Road near Painter Lane in North Wilkesboro, when she approached a curve in the road.
The driver of the GMC tried to avoid the oncoming vehicle but could not, according to troopers.
Miller was transported to an area hospital and is expected to recover.
The girls were pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt force trauma injuries.
A crash report noted all involved parties were wearing seatbelts at the time of the violent crash, reports WXII12.
The crash remains under investigation.
Geo quick facts: Mulberry is a census-designated place in Wilkes County, North Carolina. The population was 2,332 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The community was given its name by the first European pioneers to settle the area in the 1750s. They called the region “Mulberry Fields”, after the many mulberry trees in the area – Wikipedia.