Two people died Tuesday night after a car crash struck a tree near the Meadowmont Village neighborhood in Chapel Hill, according to police.
A release from the town government early Wednesday morning said both the Chapel Hill Police and Chapel Hill Fire departments responded to a report of a vehicle on fire around 9:40 p.m. Tuesday. Upon arrival to the scene in the 600 block of West Barbee Chapel Road — which is off North Carolina 54/Raleigh Road — they found the driver and passenger of the car dead.
According to police, the initial investigation found the driver had struck a tree. Wednesday’s release, however, said the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
An update from Chapel Hill Police after 4 p.m. identified the driver as 50-year-old Lisa Marie Yanez of Carrboro and the passenger as 40-year-old Vaughn Avery Booker of Durham.

The 600 block of West Barbee Chapel Hill, where police say two people died from a single-car crash on Tuesday night. (Photo via Google Maps.)
As of Wednesday morning, no additional information about the crash or its victims is available from Chapel Hill Police.
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