A 33-year-old Huntersville man died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a pickup truck while walking along NC 73 near Cowans Ford Road in Lincoln County. Jamie Cash was killed at the scene, and the 19-year-old driver who hit him was not injured, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Cash was walking east along NC 73 when he was struck by a westbound 2017 Ford F-150, as reported by WSOC-TV. The driver, 19-year-old Aspen Beckett of Mooresville, was not hurt in the collision. Troopers added specific direction-of-travel details for both the truck and the pedestrian, noting that this stretch of NC 73 near Cowans Ford Road remains a narrow, two-lane corridor in eastern Lincoln County, according to WHKY.
Investigators determined that neither speeding nor impairment played a role in the crash, and no charges have been filed against Beckett as the investigation into the fatality continues.
A Corridor With a Recent History of Fatal Crashes
This is not the first time a person on foot or bike has died along NC 73 in Lincoln County. In October 2025, 23-year-old bicyclist Jaycob Neece was struck and killed near South Pilot Knob Road on the same highway, and a 30-year-old driver was later charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run, per WCNC. NC 73 functions as a heavily traveled regional connector between Lincoln and Mecklenburg counties, carrying commuter traffic through communities with limited sidewalk infrastructure.
Other Lincoln County highways have seen their own deadly wrecks in recent months. Hoodline previously reported on a wrong-way crash on NC 16 near Sifford Road in June that killed two drivers when a Ram pickup and a Mercedes van caught fire, and a fiery head-on collision on NC Highway 27 near Iron Station in July that killed one person and left another seriously injured. Those crashes, like Wednesday's, occurred on state routes.
Statewide Pedestrian Deaths Climbing
Cash's death fits into a troubling statewide pattern. The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles' 2024 Traffic Crash Facts report, released in September 2025, found that 281 pedestrians were killed in North Carolina traffic crashes that year, a 12 percent increase from 2023, according to the Rosensteel Fleishman article, which attributes the figures to NCDMV. The report also found that 11 percent of all pedestrians involved in reported crashes statewide that year were killed.
North Carolina law places specific obligations on pedestrians walking along highways without sidewalks. Under General Statute § 20-174(d), pedestrians are required to walk on the extreme left side or shoulder facing oncoming traffic when no sidewalk is available, per the Rosensteel Fleishman article. North Carolina law also addresses pedestrian crossings.
State transportation safety analysis shows why these non-intersection stretches are so dangerous. Nearly 75 percent of pedestrian crashes resulting in serious injury or death occur away from intersections, where people are walking or crossing outside designated crosswalks, according to NC Vision Zero. Higher vehicle speeds outside urbanized intersections tend to increase the severity of these collisions.
Road Widening Project Still Years Away
The North Carolina Department of Transportation is already planning major changes to this stretch of highway. The agency is developing an 8.5-mile corridor improvement project, known as R-5721/U-5765, that would widen NC 73 from two lanes into a multi-lane divided boulevard with dedicated bicycle and pedestrian side paths between NC 16 in Lincoln County and Huntersville, according to NCDOT.
A more localized piece of that effort, Project R-5721A, specifically covers the segment of NC 73 from NC 16 in Lincoln County to Beatties Ford Road, and features a multilane reduced-conflict configuration, per PublicInput. NCDOT continues accepting public input across the project's various phases, while right-of-way acquisitions are underway and construction is scheduled.
