A Winston-Salem woman died Saturday after the van in which she was a passenger struck another vehicle and overturned on U.S. 52 South near its interchange with U.S. 421 South, authorities said.
Catalina Mariano-Cruz, 59, of Gray Avenue was pronounced dead at the scene, Winston-Salem police said.
The incident happened shortly before 9:43 a.m. when a 1997 Mercury van driven by Pedro Banos Avila, 62, of Winston-Salem, was traveling south on the highway’s right lane, police said.
At the same time, a 2003 Saturn driven by James Edward Cuthrell, 20, of Winston-Salem, also was traveling south in the highway’s left lane, police said.
For unknown reasons, the vehicles collided, causing the van to overturn, police said.
Avila was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries, police said. Cuthrell wasn’t injured.
The Winston-Salem Police Department’s traffic enforcement unit is investigating the incident.
Officers shut down the section of U.S. 52 South where the crash happened, police said.
Mariano-Cruz’s death is the city’s third traffic fatality this year, as compared to none at the same time in 2020, police said.
Anyone with information about this incident can call Winston-Salem police at 336-773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 336-727-2800. Crime Stoppers of Winston-Salem/Forsyth County is on Facebook.
336-727-7299
