Woman dies in Emerald Isle wreck

EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated to correct the direction the driver of the Prius was heading in.

EMERALD ISLE — Emerald Isle police say it's unclear why a driver who died after a Monday wreck may have crossed the center line into oncoming traffic.

An 82-year-old woman with a beach home in Emerald Isle was traveling west on Coast Guard Road in a 2008 Toyota Prius when she crossed the center line and struck a 2005 Toyota Tundra pick-up truck head-on, said police Chief Bill Hargett.

The name of the woman was not being released until next of kin was notified.

There was no evidence that the woman applied the brakes or attempted to steer back into her lane, and police are looking at the possibility that a medical condition may have contributed to the cause of the wreck.

The driver of the truck, Jackson Parker Jr., 45, of Swansboro, veered to the shoulder in an attempt to avoid the collision. He was transported to Carteret General Hospital.