BERTIE COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - A Merry Hill man was killed last night when his car struck a tree that fell across the roadway.

The Highway Patrol says the crash happened shortly before 9:00 p.m. on Ashland Church Road near Black Rock Road in Bertie County.

Derrick Spruill was heading east on the highway, troopers say, when his car went off the right side of the road, hitting the tree that had previously fallen.

They say his vehicle came back onto the roadway, crossing the centerline, and struck another tree on the other side of the road.

The 42-year-old man died at the scene. Troopers say Spruill wasn’t wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

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