Greenville, North Carolina — A quiet Friday afternoon turned tragic on NC Highway 118 when 23-year-old Cara Gardner of Greenville lost her life in a crash with a log truck at about 2:30 p.m. Friday at the intersection of Highway 118 and Cannon Price Road, authorities say.
Troopers with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol say Gardner was driving her Toyota Camry and tried to turn left onto Highway 118 from Cannon Price Road. They report she did not yield the right of way to a westbound log truck, and the two vehicles collided.
The force of the impact sent the log truck off the roadway. It ran into a ditch and overturned, scattering its load of logs across the highway. Emergency crews worked for more than three hours to clear the scene and reopen the route.
Friends and family describe Cara as a bright young woman with her whole life ahead of her — a daughter, a friend, and someone full of plans and dreams. It’s that loss of potential, more than the details of the crash, that has hit her community the hardest.
People who knew her say she had a warm smile and easy laugh, and that she cared deeply for others. Her absence is now felt in the everyday moments and milestones she won’t get to share, leaving a quiet ache in the hearts of those who loved her.
Life in Greenville has slowed for many as neighbors offer support, memories, and prayers to Cara’s family. Her passing is a stark reminder of how fragile life can be and how quickly everything can change — in the blink of an eye at an ordinary crossroads.
Officials with the Highway Patrol continue to investigate the crash. No charges or citations have been publicly announced as of now.
Friends, family, and community members are holding onto photographs, stories, and the memory of a young woman taken far too soon. Cara Gardner’s life mattered, and her memory will live on in the people she touched.
