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Cashiers woman dies hours after minor traffic accidentBy Carey Phillips |
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A medical examiner's report was expected Wednesday afternoon into the cause of a Cashiers woman's death hours after she was involved in a minor automobile accident.
Gail Fugate, 46, died at her residence New Year's morning, according to Sgt. Matt Wike of the N.C. Highway Patrol. "The medical examiner is doing an investigation into the cause of death," Wike told The Herald just before press time Wednesday morning. The accident happened around 12:30 a.m. New Year's morning near her home in the Chattooga Woods section off of N.C. 107 south of Cashiers, said Wike, who also stated that Fugate refused medical treatment at the scene. Trooper Denny Wood, who investigated the accident, said Fugate was walking around and was able to sign a refusal statement following the accident. He said she did not appear to be injured, except for a slight limp in her left leg. Fugate was alone in her Jeep Cherokee when it went off the road and into a ditch landing on its side. He said she could not have been traveling more than 20 mph at the time of the accident. "She said she had been to Asheville all day shopping and just fell asleep," Wood said. |
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