North Carolina State Highway Patrol told ABC11 that 25-year-old Sgt. Nathan Whorton was speeding when he went off Overhills Road and crashed into a tree.
Whorton was an active-duty soldier with the 82nd Airborne.
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He was wearing a seat belt. but it failed, according to the Highway Patrol, and Whorton was thrown from the car.
Video captured the mangled wreckage as it was being removed from the scene.