Wilmington, NC (July 15, 2026) – A woman driving an SUV struck a transit bus on Carolina Beach Road near Antoinette Drive in New Hanover County, North Carolina, on Tuesday, July 14, causing minor injuries and temporarily closing the intersection.
Heather Blakley was identified as the driver of the SUV. She was charged with failure to yield after turning left into a shopping center and hitting the bus, which had one passenger on board at the time of the accident. Minor injuries were reported following the collision.
The intersection was temporarily closed, and traffic was rerouted while emergency units worked the scene. The road has since reopened. No details about the injured party’s age or identity were included in the initial report on the wreck.
The cause of the crash, per the charge filed, was a failure to yield during a left turn. The case is now being handled through the court process.
We wish a smooth recovery to anyone hurt in the accident.
What Drivers Should Know About Yielding to Public Transit Buses in North Carolina
Transit buses operate on fixed routes and make frequent stops, which means their movements are more predictable than those of other large vehicles, but that predictability doesn’t always prevent crashes, particularly at driveways and shopping center entrances where turning vehicles must cross bus lanes or travel paths. A left turn across oncoming or curbside traffic requires a driver to account for all approaching vehicles, including buses that may be moving steadily along the curb lane and are harder to see around larger vehicles in the turn queue.
North Carolina law requires drivers to yield the right of way when making a turn across traffic, and that obligation extends to buses, cyclists, and pedestrians who have the right of way in the path of the turn. Failure to yield is one of the most commonly cited causes in crashes involving turning vehicles at commercial driveways, in part because drivers focus on gaps in the faster-moving lanes and underestimate traffic closer to the curb.
Buses carrying passengers present a particular concern in these crashes because riders are seated without the same restraint systems found in personal vehicles. Even a minor collision at low speed can cause passengers to shift suddenly in their seats, leading to soft tissue injuries or falls that may not be immediately apparent at the scene.
