The wreck that killed a Wilkes woman happened about 10 Monday night, and it was more than six hours before anyone realized it had happened. Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Rankin tells me Barbara Ann Teague was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her husband Jimmy, that went off Shumate Mountain Road near Dehart Church Road and down an embankment. It crashed into a tree, knocking him unconscious. The wreck couldn't be seen from the road:

Rankin believes this happened a short time after the wreck -- an autopsy will confirm if that is correct, and what killed Mrs. Teague. It was several hours before Jimmy Teague regained consciousness and made his way up the embankment to the roadside, where a passerby took him to his parents house nearby. From there he was taken by car to Wilkes Regional, then by ambulance to Baptist in Winston-Salem, where he is reported in serious condition. Funeral arrangements for Barbara Teague have not been finalized. The couple's children are staying with family members. The wreck remains under investigation.

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