A 19-year-old Brent woman was killed Thursday evening when the van she was riding in collided head-on with a pickup truck on Alabama 216 near Lake View, and two men were left injured and hospitalized in Birmingham. Carina V. Perez was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Alabama State Troopers.
Perez was a passenger in a 2008 Chevrolet Express van that collided with a 2005 Ram 2500 pickup truck at approximately 7 p.m. Thursday, according to abc3340.com. Trooper Sgt. Reginal King said Perez was riding in the van, which collided head-on with the Ram 2500 driven by William D. Garner, 21, of McCalla, as reported by AL.com. Garner was injured in the crash, as was 24-year-old Arcenio V. Reynoso, also of Brent, who was riding in the van alongside Perez.
Both Garner and Reynoso were taken to UAB Hospital in Birmingham for treatment, per the same AL.com report. The crash occurred on Alabama 216 near mile marker 24, about two miles west of Lake View, according to abc3340.com's account of the incident.
Conflicting Details on Crash Time and Location
Accounts of the exact timing and location of the collision vary slightly between outlets. abc3340.com reported the crash happened at approximately 7 p.m., while the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency told Patch that it occurred at approximately 7:03 p.m. near Mountain Gap Road in Lake View. Both agencies agree the wreck happened Thursday evening on Alabama 216 in Tuscaloosa County.
The crash prompted the closure of both lanes of the highway, Patch reported. The roadway had reopened to traffic by Friday morning, according to the same Patch account.
Investigation Continues, No Further Details Released
Troopers with ALEA's Highway Patrol Division are continuing to investigate the crash, and no additional information had been released as of Friday, per abc3340.com. The circumstances that led to the head-on collision have not been disclosed.
The crash adds to a string of fatal wrecks on Alabama roads in Tuscaloosa County this year. In September, a 24-year-old woman from Valrico, Florida, identified by troopers as Ariel S. Burcham, was killed in a separate head-on crash with a pickup truck in the same county, according to al.com. And in April, a woman was killed and three other people, including two teens, were injured when an SUV left the roadway and struck a tree on Alabama 216 about five miles east of Tuscaloosa, al.com also reported.
Statewide, a projection from Alabama's Traffic Fatalities tracker estimated that 7,770 people died in U.S. motor vehicle crashes in the first quarter of 2026, about 4.3 percent fewer than the 8,120 fatalities projected for the same period in 2025. No cause has been determined for Thursday's crash, and troopers have not said whether any citations or charges are expected as the investigation continues.
