Motorcycle rider dies in NC Highway 16 accident

WILKES COUNTY — A motorcycle rider was killed on Monday afternoon in an accident just across the Ashe and Wilkes County line.

According to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, at approximately 12:50 p.m. on April 15, state troopers responded to an accident on NC Highway 16 near Misty Jump Lane. The accident happened about a mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway and 1.5 miles from the NC Highway 163 intersection.

The investigation determined that a 2014 Triumph motorcycle, driven by Terry Warfield Spainhour, was traveling north on NC Highway 16 when the driver ran off the right side of the road and struck a guardrail.

Spainhour, 70, of Clemmons, was thrown from the motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

According to the highway patrol, the initial investigation does not indicate excessive speed or impairment to be contributing factors in the collision.

Highway 16 was closed in the area for approximately two hours while troopers investigated the accident.