Around 4:45 a.m., a 2005 Honda accord ran off the side of the road and crashed into a pine tree.
The driver, Osiel Valencia Rosales, 33, of Chapel Hill, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A passenger, Norma Lorena Telles, 38, of Chapel Hill, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Alcohol and speed both appear to have been factors in the crash, according to a preliminary investigation.