AHOSKIE – A star athlete at Hertford County High School is in critical condition following a two-vehicle accident here Friday afternoon on Memorial Drive.

Ron Gina Wilder, 17, of Aulander remains in Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, airlifted to that medical facility shortly after the 5:43 p.m. accident. A five-year-old child passenger in Wilder’s vehicle was also injured. The extent of those injuries are unknown.

Due to Wilder’s injuries, the Ahoskie Police Department has unanswered questions as to the cause of the accident.

According to Ahoskie Police Chief Troy Fitzhugh, all they do know at the present time is that Wilder, operating a 1992 Nissan, was reportedly exiting from the Ahoskie Commons Shopping Center onto Memorial Drive. There, a 2001 Buick – driven by Thomas Levell Askew, 44, of Powellsville – apparently made impact with Wilder’s vehicle.

Askew, who did not require medical attention as a result of the mishap, was charged with DWI. However, the accident remains under investigation by the Ahoskie Police.

Wilder is a basketball and softball standout at HCHS. Due to Friday’s wreck, the HCHS/Currituck softball game – scheduled for later that afternoon in Ahoskie – was postponed.

On the basketball court, Wilder is the point guard for coach Joan McCullough’s Lady Bears. Wilder, a junior, was named as a first team member of the 2004-05 All-Roanoke-Chowan Basketball Team. She was also tabbed as the R-C area’s Defensive Player of the Year.