UPDATED: One person dies in fatal crash on bridge to the Outer Banks

One person was killed and another injured in a crash on the Wright Memorial Bridge May 15, 2021. [Provided photo]

A crash and vehicle fire with a fatality Saturday afternoon shut down traffic headed into the Outer Banks on U.S. 158 via the Wright Memorial Bridge.

Incoming traffic was stalled for several hours as the eastbound lanes of the bridge were closed and law enforcement switched the westbound lanes to two-day traffic. The journey to the beach was also slowed by another crash on another bridge, this one on the Lindsay C. Warren Bridge that carries U.S. 64 over the Alligator River.

The fatal crash on the Wright Memorial Bridge occurred around 2:50 p.m. just before the navigation span of the bridge that carries U.S. 158 from Point Harbor to Kitty Hawk. U.S. 158 traffic was being alternated in each direction using the westbound bridge until the scene was cleared around 5:30 p.m.

A law enforcement official confirmed to OBX Today that one person died as a result of the wreck. Other details from the N.C. Highway Patrol were not immediately available. The Virginian-Pilot reports the victim was 17 years old. The teen’s father was also injured, though his condition was unknown late Saturday.

The Alligator River Bridge wreck occurred around 3 p.m. on the two-lane draw bridge between the Dare County mainland and Tyrrell County. Reports from the scene indicated two vehicles were involved in the wreck that was cleared just before 5 p.m. Other information was not yet available.

This is a developing story, stay with OBX Today for updates.

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Sam Walker was news director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, Big 94.5 WCMS and Z 92.3 from August 2011 to March 2022.