CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — Neighbors and friends are opening up after a 16-year-old teen was killed in a two-car crash in Cleveland County on Thursday night.
It happened on NC Highway 150 shortly after 7 p.m. near Maple Springs Road between Shelby and Boiling Springs, according to troopers.
Two teens were in a Honda Civic going west on Highway 150 when they tried to make a left turn, striking a Chevy Tahoe head-on, troopers said.
The passenger of the Honda, 16-year-old Gabriel Dibruno, died after the impact. The other teen who was driving the Honda was airlifted to Spartanburg Medical Center with serious injuries.
“I heard it and just started praying”
— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) May 20, 2022
Neighbor said the sound of a fatal crash near the Shelby Airport rang through the area. 16 yo passenger Gabriel Dibruno died. The 16 yo driver in the white Honda is in serious condition. The car was T-boned on Highway 150 Thursday evening. pic.twitter.com/LpcVYqSPht
Johnnie Powell knew Dibruno well and said he was a student at Shelby High School who had a passion for his family.
“When I heard about it, it was a nightmare really,” said Powell. “He was a great kid, and I hate that he lost his life at this time.”
Neighbor Sabrina Williams told Channel 9′s Ken Lemon that she heard the crash from inside her home and knew it was a bad one.
When she looked outside, she saw the driver of the Chevy Tahoe crawling out. Both the driver and passenger in that car were not seriously hurt.
She quickly learned about what happened to the teens in the Honda.
“We all just as a community combined together and just sit back and prayed,” said Williams.
Williams said there have been a lot of accidents at that intersection, which she says is about half the length of a football field from her house.
“A child did lose their life, and that’s not fair to nobody,” Williams said.
Williams mentioned that bad accidents happen there as often as once a month.
The investigating trooper told Lemon that he agreed that the intersection was dangerous. He told Lemon that he will register his concern with the Department of Transportation in his Traffic Condition Report.
Safety experts will then look at the number of accidents and evaluate the conditions at the intersection.
“Change speed limit. Put stop lights up. Do something to help,” Williams said.
Alcohol and speed do not appear to be factors in the crash, troopers said. The two crash victims were wearing seat belts.
The trooper said he has to talk to the district attorney about possible charges in the crash.
(Watch the video below: ‘Enjoy every second’: Family opens up after teen dies in wrong-way crash in Cleveland County)
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
