Theresa Bruckner, 52, of Browns Summit, North Carolina, near Greensboro,pleaded no contest this week to three counts of aiding and abetting a person less than 21 years of age in possessing an alcoholic beverage. She was charged in July 2010.

The wreck, which took place in February 2010, killed three people, two of them teenagers. The driver, Amanda Sperduti, age 20 at the time, survived. She is serving 7 to 12 years in prison for aggravated felony death by motor vehicle.

^{Photo taken at the scene}

^{The car was ripped in half when it hit a tree.}

Sperduti and her three passengers had left Bruckner’s home and were going from one party to another. Sperduti’s blood-alcohol level was .20 – more than twice the legal limit.

She rounded a bend in the road, driving 90 miles per hour in a 45 zone. She ran off the road, struck a street sign and then a tree. The Acura the four were riding in was torn in half; the three victims pronounced dead at the scene.

In Bruckner’s plea deal, she was given a 45-day jail sentence, placed on probation and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service. Also as part of the deal, the same charges against her son, Kyle Bruckner, who was 22 at the time he was charged, were dropped.

The sentence seems mild for actions which led to the deaths of three people, especially considering that a 20-year-old – and likely a very immature one – was sentenced to up to 12 years.

It’s tempting to some adults to let the young folk join in the partaking of spirits at parties. After all, everyone is having such a good time. What is a little drink going to hurt? But a little can lead to a lot. And a lot leads to bad decisions and reckless behavior. Alcohol is best kept absent from any party attended by young people.

Young, inexperienced drivers are at a higher risk for crashes, and wrecks are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adding alcohol to that mix is terribly irresponsible.

But the bottom line is, giving alcohol to people under 21 is illegal. Offenders can be prosecuted criminally, although the penalties for it don’t have enough teeth. And under some circumstances an offender can also be exposed to civil liability for serving alcohol to someone who is obviously inebriated. The civil liability of the offense may actually be a more powerful deterrent to the crime of providing alcohol to underage young people who then go out and injure someone, or worse.

The accident, which took place in Asheville, N.C., in August of 2010, took the life of Joel Severson, 39. Watkins, while distracted by texting, veered out of his lane and hit Severson's motorcycle.

Watkins was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 200 hours of community service and fined $1,000. He also was required not to use or possess a cell phone while driving.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2009 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated 448,000 were injured in crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving.

Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.

But texting is even worse. A study on texting by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that texting drivers are 23 times more likely to crash or be involved in a near-crash.

“As dangerous as talking on the phone appears to be, texting is one of the most dangerous things a person can do behind the wheel,” said Arthur Goodwin, a researcher at the Highway Safety Research Center in Chapel Hill. “It takes your hands, your eyes, and your brains — the perfect storm, from a highway safety point of view.”

Drivers should also remember that these criteria apply to GPS devices as well. It’s all too tempting to program your destination while driving down the highway. And all too dangerous.

North Carolina’s ban on texting while driving was passed in 2009. Thirty-three other states have enacted bans on texting while driving. The other 16 should get on board.

Ronald Eugene Graybeal, age 50, of Newport, Tennessee, failed to react to slowing traffic on the congested highway at the 15-501 exit between Durham and Chapel Hill. He slammed into a Ford F-250 pickup truck driven by John Hall Llanio, 38, of Kannapolis. He then hit a Chevy Equinox being driven by a Barbara Boda Caldwell, 64, of Mebane, and then hit a vehicle driven by Gary Dwayne Smith, 45, of Burlington. Finally, he hit a box truck driven a Greensboro man, Reginald Keith Thompson, 45, who fortunately survived.

Channel 11 WTVD and the NCDOT documented the horrific destruction extensively.

^{An overview shows the magnitude of the crash scene.}

^{A pickup truck was crushed like an accordion by the tremendous impact.}

^{One vehicle was burned so badly the make of it could not be determined.}

State troopers said that Graybeal was under the influence of methadone and marijuana. He was charged with multiple crimes, including two counts of felony death by vehicle, one count of misdemeanor death by vehicle, driving while impaired, and possession of drugs.

He is currently in jail under $600,000 bond.

Graybeal has spent good a number of years in prison for crimes including rape and burglary.

The trucking company Graybeal was driving for, Hawley Transport, based in Tennessee, has some problems on its record. According to records with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the company scored 81.4 percent on driver fatigue. That means only 18.6 percent of all other trucking companies on the road

^{Ronald Eugene Graybeal}

have a have a worse record of that problem. In 11 fatigue cases, inspectors pulled Hawley Transport drivers out of service. Trucks owned by Hawley, which has 10 trucks and 10 drivers, were involved in two crashes in early 2010. Eight drivers committed traffic violations.

Graybeal’s boss told Channel 11 WTVD that Graybeal had taken random drug tests and passed every one. She said that the company had been told Graybeal had a prescription for methadone for pain.

Still, it goes without saying that a trucking company should take more care with the selection of its employees.

Who will be held responsible for the destruction of these three lives, and the anguish of their families?

Lorenzo Emile Charles was 47 years old. He was, of course, the player on the famed Cardiac Pack basketball who dunked the winning shot that brought glory and the NCAA championship to North Carolina State University in 1983.

It’s been called the most famous basket in college basketball history.

Charles died Monday in a when the bus he was driving wrecked on Interstate 40 in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was the only person on the bus.

Tire tracks indicate that the bus veered off the interstate, went down a hill and crashed into a stand of trees. According to one report, a passerby tried to save Charles with CPR.

For the Wolfpack family, the news is difficult to take. “It’s just too hard to accept – he was too young,” said teammate Derek Whittenburg.
Even though I’m a Carolina graduate, I always had a grudging respect for State. Winning is sweeter by far when you face a worthy opponent.

And the Pack’s 1983 run was legendary. (Though allow me to mention that the year before, the Tar Heels won the

The Wolfpack finished the regular season 8-6 in the ACC and 17-10 overall. Then they turned around and won the ACC tournament. That was amazing enough.

To then win the NCAA championship was a miracle. No other team with 10 losses has ever won the title.

In seven of their last nine wins the Cardiac Pack was behind in the last minute. Charles scored the final points in three of those nine victories. 

In his senior year, Charles won first-team All-ACC and All-America honors. Yet he never let his achievements or his most famous play go to his head. Said Whittenburg: “That’s just what a humble guy he is. He was just a quiet, easy-going guy who loved to have fun and was great to be around.”

Lorenzo Charles was one of the athletes who thrilled so many fans of ACC basketball in those days. His death is a loss that came too soon.

Why, as he faces the most important court case in his life, is he wearing this grin in his mugshot?

Given his vast experience as a lawyer, Edwards knows the value of focus groups. Attorneys use focus groups to predict the outcome of a case. They gather small groups of people to serve as a jury and put on a moot court trial before them. The focus groups’ verdict is strong indication of the real verdict. When several focus groups make the same decision, it is a very strong indicator of a real jury’s verdict.

Edwards’ most important case will be his trial on six charges of campaign finance fraud. He has turned down plea deals that would get him just six months prison time. If he loses, he’s looking at 30 years in a federal prison. 

He is smiling because he does not expect to lose.

“Wait a minute – that’s how fast Kyle Busch was going when he was stopped for speeding!”

Since then, four people have told me they thought the very same thing.

This deadly accident happened on Sunday, June 5^th. Now friends and family are left to mourn three teenage boys. Another remains hospitalized at WakeMed.

I cannot help but wonder: Were these boys NASCAR fans?

Were they Kyle Busch fans? Did they admire his bad-boy reputation? Did they think his recent reckless driving stunt was cool?

Was he on their minds while the 16-year-old driver tested the power of his 2011 Dodge Challenger?

The common factors of these Busch’s incident and this crash are actually few. They both took place in the uncontrolled conditions of public roadways. They both involve extremely fast cars.

_{2011 Dodge Challenger}

But one driver is a highly skilled professional race car driver. Some would even argue he's the best in the world.

The other was a boy.

In the reckless driving incident, Busch was driving a $350,000 Lexus LFA sports car 128 mph through a residential area marked with a 45-mph speed limit.

He was stopped in the middle of the afternoon on a winding road where there are several neighborhoods, a church and a day-care nearby.

The fatal crash that killed the boys happened at about 8:40 p.m. on a rural road in Wake County, North Carolina. An N.C. Highway Patrol accident reconstruction team found that the Dodge Challenger was going 90 mph when it hit a tree, roof first. Data retrieved from the car showed it was going 129 mph five seconds before it crashed, news reports said. The speed limit on that part of Old Pearce Road is 55 mph.

NASCAR’s lawless moonshining roots from its early days have always been a major part of its attraction. And even today, the rowdy behavior, the feuds and rivalries, the bumps and shoves and traded paint add spice to the flavor of the sport.

But those outlaw days are gone. The need for speed has to be fulfilled on the track -- and only on the track.

We can’t really know how much the bad behavior of a driver will turn into a bad example for young people.

But it can’t be good.

Now I only handle personal injury cases, but I was thinking: How would I defend Kyle Busch?

Getty Images for NASCAR

You’ve almost certainly heard the story. NASCAR racer Kyle Busch wascharged with reckless driving by a sheriff’s deputy in Iredell County, North Carolina on May 24^th, 2011.

Busch was behind the wheel of a $350,000 Lexus LFA sports car, driving 128 mph through a residential area marked with a 45-mph speed limit. He was stopped on a winding road where there are several neighborhoods, a church and a day-care close by.

What possible excuse could he have for driving 83 mph over the speed limit through a place like that?

Under structured sentencing laws, Busch is probably looking at zero jail time, a small fine, and maybe some community service.

But our client is not really Kyle Busch.

Our real clients are Joe Gibbs Racing and NASCAR.

It will probably cost Busch's boss and NASCAR untold millions of dollars if public opinion is so strong they have to yank him out of the No. 18 Toyota.

With that in mind, here is how I would defend this case.

First, when Busch appears in court, he has to acknowledge up front how terrible a thing he did, and that his action could have cost lives.

Then he should voluntarily submit to a punishment more severe than the court could impose.

1. He should unconditionally surrender his driver’s license for a period of 5 years.
2. He should perform 500 hours of community service, speaking to youth groups about the dangers and consequences of reckless driving and speeding.
3. He should pay into the court $50,000 to be used to employ the Institute of Government to propose legislation making it a felony to speed on a public roadway in excess of 100 mph. After all, that’s merely twice the fine he had to pay to NASCAR for his dust-up with Kevin Harvick at Darlington.

If Busch would voluntarily submit to the above punishment, I would hope that it would take would take the heat off of Joe Gibbs and NASCAR to punish him further. It would represent a serious effort to heal the outrage of NASCAR’s fans, and put a good face back on stock car racing.

And now Joe Gibbs has a lot of thinking to do.

In the aftermath of Busch’s bone-headed stunt of barreling 128 mph through a residential area marked with a 45-mph speed limit in a $350,000 sports car, Gibbs has to consider:

_{Getty Images for NASCAR}

What is the right thing to do now?

What is right for the Joe Gibbs Racing organization? How does this affect the team? The crew, the other drivers?

Just what do the sponsors think about this situation? What’s going through the minds of the folks at Toyota, M&M/Mars, FedEx? They sure aren’t paying to get bad publicity.

What is best for NASCAR? How do you heal the black eye this has given to the sport itself?

And what is fair to Kyle Busch? He’s racing in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday, but what comes after? I’ve seen two suggestions in the media that he be suspended for at least one weekend of racing.

And finally, what is fair to the fans? The people who follow every move of their favorite driver? The folks that buy the sponsors’ products? The kids who grow up loving NASCAR because their mamas and daddies do?

Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 1 boy in the No. 18 car has made a fool of himself and a mess to be cleaned up. Gibbs is the man stuck with the job. Question is, how is he going to do it?

The driver who hit Akemini, Joy Solomon, 29, of Greensboro, has not yet been charged in the accident. Perhaps she was texting or talking while driving or simply not paying attention. Whatever the case, Akemini will be desperately missed by his friends and family.

May is officially Motorcycle Awareness Month in North Carolina. The motorcycle- and ATV-related injuries and deaths that have happened recently are all the more infuriating knowing that motorists in NC are supposed to have heightened awareness this month.

As soon as an official accident report is available, you will be able to find it for free on egertonlaw.com.

Adults will still be compelled to sport eyewear and headgear while driving an ATV on a public street. The law does not allow kids or their parents to make the same choice that adults are now free to make. Children must wear eyewear and helmets at all times, no exceptions.

One of Governor Perdue's spokespeople said that she did not sign the bill into law because though she could see the freedom of choice argument in support of the bill, she was concerned about the safety issues the bill could create.

Considering recent ATV accidents, Governor Perdue's concerns are not unfounded. ATV and motorcycle accidents are frequently the cause of property damage, personal injury and death. People who choose to ride ATVs and motorcycles should take every precaution to protect themselves, law or no law!

The driver who hit him should realize: Most of the time, you can run, but you can’t hide.

Police have issued a request from the public two times in this accident. People who know the driver often report the accident, after hearing about that person having a damaged vehicle.

Authorities have released the description of the hit-and-run vehicle: a silver or light-blue Toyota Tercel or Corolla. It likely has some damage to the front end, to the lower passenger side and to the undercarriage.

You can link to the news report in the Charlotte Observer here.

This is what Detective Kevin Allred, the lead investigator in the case, had to say about it: 

“We just would like the person that was involved in this crash to come down and talk to us, to let us know what happened. If they don’t do that, someone knows who did it and a gentleman by the name of Edward Hedrick was killed in the wreck and his family needs closure.”

In addition, the police are now reviewing footage from eight traffic cameras stationed along South Boulevard, a street the driver probably traveled as he or she escaped.

Hedrick and two friends were riding their bikes on Poindexter Drive near Lawndale Road when the accident happened. When Hedrick fell and the two other riders went to help him, they saw a car heading for him.

They tried to wave down the car, but the vehicle didn't even slow down, and hit Hedrick before he could get up. 

The car kept going and was last seen going down Poindexter toward South Boulevard. Hedrick died at the scene.

Hit-and-run wrecks often to follow a pattern. Simple panic is one of the first reasons a driver runs from a crash. But other factors can contribute to that panic and desire to flee. These are a few:

• A bad driving record. 
• A suspended or revoked license. 
• A criminal record. 
• Driving while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance. 
• The knowledge of the driver that he or she was at fault and driving recklessly, or while distracted, or simply too fast.

There’s no way to know at this point why the driver fled. But it’s easy to see how a person driving at 6 o’clock Sunday morning could have been heading home after a late Saturday night of partying.

Witnesses are often provide the key to tracking down a suspect in a hit-and-run. The police have two witnesses who saw the whole horrible spectacle and could give a detailed description of the vehicle. Damage such as what was done to this car are hard to hide. And as Detective Allred said, “someone knows who did it.”

In the case of one crash we have written about, court records said the driver tried to get help towing her car, and also tried to hide it. Word gets out – particularly when the wreck involves a highly publicized fatality.

The reports in the Charlotte Observer say that if anyone has information about the car or its driver, call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or Det. Kevin Allred at 704-432-2169.

After an accident it is wise to consult an attorney. You can find more information about our firm, Egerton & Associates, at our website, http://www.egertonlaw.com/. If you have questions about legal issues in this article or in your own personal injury suffered in a wreck, call me directly for help – Lawrence Egerton, 336-273-0508, or 800-800-4LAW, or e-mail me at le@egertonlaw.com. 

You will always talk to an attorney the first time you call.

Mr. Nywenig's pickup truck struck an additional vehicle after hitting Mr. Smith's car. The second collision injured driver Connie Salazar and her 19-year-old passenger from Ramseur. They all went to an area hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Pending investigation, Mr. Nywenig will likely face charges that could include misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. He was already cited for running a red light according to Trooper Greg Ingram.

On Friday, April 29, 2011 two children were riding dirt bikes in Mountain Park, N.C. when they crashed into each other head-on. One of them, a ten-year-old, was taken to Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital while the other, only five-years-old, was airlifted to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. The kids are reportedly in stable condition, but they face long roads to recovery after these serious injuries.

In Alamance County, N.C., two men were in a crash that sent them to nearby trauma centers. Charles Clemmons, of Burlington, N.C., was travelling on Stoney Creek Church Road when Frederick Wallace pulled out in front of him on his ATV. Mr. Wallace was attempting to cross the street to check his mailbox when the collision occurred. Both vehicles were totaled and both men went to the hospital via helicopter. Luckily-like the children injured on dirt bikes-these grown ups are in stable condition, too.

It's always awful to hear about people injured on motor vehicles, but it's a relief to know these victims are still with their family and friends. Their accidents provide an unfortunate example of the risks people take while riding bikes and ATVs. Proper safety precautions should be used at all times. Since riders cannot use safety belts and restraints like drivers and passengers in automobiles, it's imperative that riders wear a helmet at all times while operating a dirt bike, motorcycle or ATV regardless of their age or experience.

Driver Dorothy Smith said that she did not see the girl or the school bus just prior to the accident. Troopers say the school bus did indeed have its stop-arm out-which indicates that all traffic must slow down and stop behind the bus-at the time of the accident. Charges-though still pending further investigation-appear likely against Dorothy Smith, who is reportedly a school system employee.

Mother of five, Maria Velasquez, 50, of Greensboro, was attempting to make a left turn when Ryan Boyd struck her minivan. She was airlifted to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center where she is still listed in critical condition with eight broken ribs and a collapsed lung. Her children-Ana Lopez, Francisco Lopez, Judy Lopez, Isabel Lopez and Jeranimo Lopez, and a family friend, Melissa Whipple-have all been released from the hospital. Melissa has 14 stitches in her head and many of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle. They are lucky not to have been injured more seriously.

Ryan Boyd is still in the hospital in serious condition. He has been charged with DWI and reckless driving. It is unclear whether or not he had additional passengers in the car with him at the time of the wreck or what their conditions may be. Additional charges are still pending as the investigation is ongoing.

As soon as an official accident report is released, it will be made available on www.egertonlaw.com.

According to a press release, the campaign raked in a whopping 38,104 total traffic and criminal citations. In Guilford County, 727 speeding tickets were handed out, making it the county with the third-highest number of speeding violations ticketed. Mecklenburg County totaled 770 speeding violations and Onslow County came in with 674. The most citations issued occurred in Wake County with 1,105 total tickets.

You can view a complete record of the traffic and criminal violations issued during the 2011 spring "No Need 2 Speed" Campaign at www.egertonlaw.com/library.

Ashante Shaniece Leath, 21, also of Burlington, was driving the vehicle at the time of the car crash. She has since been charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, driving left of center and failing to reduce speed.

Police believe that the 1993 Nissan Maxima that Leath was driving down Rauhut Street in Burlington exited the road to the let, ran into an embankment and hit a utility pole around 6:00 a.m.

Leath was transported to Alamance Regional Medical Center where she received treatment for injuries and was released. Another passenger, Kaquanna Shymale Woods, 21, from Burlington, was reportedly not injured during the wreck.

The investigation of this automobile accident has not ended. The official accident report has not yet been released, but check back with www.egertonlaw.com/library to find a free copy of the report soon.