Woman Killed In Dunn Crash Identified

The North Carolina Highway Patrol has identified the woman who died of the personal injuries she suffered in a crash on Interstate 95 just south of Dunn on January 12 as 38-year-old Newark, New Jersey resident Trelina Covington.

The NCHP said that Covington was a passenger in a Mercury Marqui driven by 55-year-old Newark resident Bert Baytops.

The NCHP said that Baytops was also killed by the crash, which took place at approximately 3:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes near the 71-mile marker. Investigators believe the car ran off the highway after he fell asleep at the wheel.

Baytops pulled the vehicle back onto the road, but it crossed the northbound lanes and collided with a guardrail in the median, causing it to spin and come to a stop in the northbound lanes.

Due to the impact knocking the car’s lights out, the driver of a northbound tractor-trailer was unable to see the vehicle and collided with it, causing Covington to be ejected.

The NCHP said Baytops, believed to have died instantly, remained in the vehicle as it burst into flames.