IFN Staff

A Claremont man was fatally injured in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 40 in western Iredell County on Saturday afternoon.

Ramon Gustavo Navo-Almanza, 28, died at the scene of the crash, according to the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

Troopers responded to the scene of the crash near the Old Mountain Road exit about 5 p.m. The interstate was partially closed for about two hours during the on-scene investigation, according to the NCSHP.

Navo-Almanza, who was traveling west in a 2005 Volvo S60, lost control of the vehicle, which drove off the left side of the roadway, returned onto the road, and then traveled off the right side of the road, where it struck a tree, troopers said. The driver was not restrained by a seatbelt, according to the news release.

The initial investigation indicates that excessive speed contributed to the collision, troopers said.