Asheville woman charged in fatal Sweeten Creek Road crash

Asheville police have charged 68-year-old Jane Neill Hughes in a fatal crash on Sweeten Creek Road that left Kathy King Dalton dead after a collision in south Asheville. Officers responded around 2:53 p.m. on April 20 to the 3300 block of the road for a crash with injuries, a stretch that carries steady traffic between Asheville, Arden and the rest of southern Buncombe County.

Police said Hughes was cited at the scene for unsafe movement and later charged on May 6 with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Investigators said Dalton was driving a 2003 Toyota Echo southbound on Sweeten Creek Road when Hughes, behind the wheel of a 2020 Cadillac Escalade, pulled out of a parking lot while trying to turn left to head northbound. The Escalade entered Dalton’s path and the vehicles collided.

Dalton was taken to Mission Hospital for treatment and died from her injuries on April 29. Police said they consulted with the Buncombe County District Attorney’s Office before serving the charge, a step that signals investigators believed the traffic violation was serious enough to support a criminal case after a death. In North Carolina, misdemeanor death by motor vehicle is used when a traffic-law violation is alleged to have caused a fatal crash, and the case now moves into the court system for further review.

The charge does not end the matter for Dalton’s family, nearby drivers or city traffic enforcement. It marks the point where a fatal collision becomes a criminal case, while investigators continue documenting what happened and asking witnesses to come forward. Asheville police said anyone with information should call 828-252-1110.

Hughes later turned herself in at the Buncombe County Detention Facility and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond, according to 828 News Now. For people trying to follow the case, the City of Asheville said most police incident reports and crash reports from January 1, 2003 onward can be searched and downloaded through its Police to Citizen system. North Carolina court information is also available through clerk of court offices and the state court portal, keeping the record of the crash and the charge open as the case advances.