The Latest News from Your North Carolina Personal Injury Attorneys

Auto Accidents

• N.C. texting case illustrates “perfect storm” of danger
  Jul 27, 2011
  In what may be the first court case involving North Carolina’s two-year texting ban, Andrew James Watkins, age 25, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor death by vehicle this past week.
  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.
  Texting is one of the worst distractions possible. It takes the drivers eyes, hands and mind off of driving - what one official called a "perfect storm" of distraction. 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.

• UPDATE: Drunk Driver Faces Charges After Wreck Injures Velasquez, Kids in High Point, NC
  May 05, 2011

  Driver Ryan Boyd faces additional charges following an investigation into a wreck he allegedly caused while driving drunk on Johnson Street and Skeet Club Road in High Point, NC.

  Initially, police charged Boyd with DWI-driving while intoxicated-and reckless driving. Now, media outlets across the Piedmont Triad report that Boyd faces three counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

  Three children were ejected from the minivan Maria Velasquez was driving when Boyd reportedly hit them on April 23, 2011 while they were making their way to a resurrection service at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church.

  The fact that the victims lived can be considered an Easter miracle. The kids-ranging in ages from 10 to 16-suffered injuries including broken bones, cuts and scrapes. Some injuries required stitches to heal. Even though none of the injuries were life threatening, such a traumatic collision is a lot for anyone-especially young people-to go through.

  Velasquez was also seriously injured and remained in the hospital for days after the other victims, but has since returned home. In all, 6 passengers were in the car with Velasquez during the accident; five were her children and one was a family friend.

  Fortunately, no passengers were in Boyd's car. He was injured in the crash and stayed in the hospital several days. The additional aggravated charges he's facing-felony charges-came following his release from hospital treatment. He was in Guilford County Jail in Greensboro, but has since been released after posting a bond of $7,500.

  Clearly, drunk driving can have big costs. I can't say in words how relieved I am that no one was killed in this wreck. Deaths happen all the time when drunk driving is involved. Maybe Ryan Boyd should consider himself lucky, too.

• Five Die in Croatan National Forest Crash
  Apr 18, 2011

  An SUV overturned on a national forest road in eastern North Carolina on April 17, 2011 and killed five people. Two infants died, along with an adolescent boy, a man and a woman. None of the victims have yet been identified.

  Officials estimate that the accident occurred around 5:30 or 6:00 p.m. on a gravel road in Croatan National Forest near Camp Lejune. Despite recent heavy storms across the state, troopers don't believe the weather played a role in the fatal crash.

  Instead, Highway Patrol Trooper R.A. Woods said speed was a likely factor based on tire marks left on the road.

  Everyone in the car but the man was wearing proper restrains, including seat belts and child safety seats. It's possible that the man died while trying to assist the other passengers. The vehicle had flipped and fallen into a canal where it sunk and was almost completely submerged.

• Walk Like MADD in Raleigh on April 9
  Feb 28, 2011

  The other day I notice an important event promoted on the North Carolina State HIghway Patrol's facebook page: Walk Like MADD!
  
  On April 9, 2011, Walk Like MADD will kick off from the campus of NC State University. The Opening Ceremony for the event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m., and the 5k walk begins at 9:00 a.m.

  The event is a major fundraiser for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), America’s largest nonprofit that works to end drunk driving, prevent underage drinking and be there for victims and family members who have been affected by the consequences of drinking and driving.

  Registration for an individual adult costs $20 and you can choose to commit to an additional fundraising goal if you’d like. With the registration fee, you get a Walk Like MADD t-shirt to wear during the event and take home.

  Walkers can also choose to form a team to work towards a fundraising goal. You can join with your coworkers, congregation, friends or family to raise funds for this powerful organization.

  MADD serves a victim of an alcohol-related wreck every ten minutes. Though that’s an impressive stat, every minute someone is injured in an alcohol-involved crash. Participation in Walk Like MADD will bolster an already successful program in fighting the epidemic of drunk driving in America.

• School Bus Driver Causes Crash in High Point, NC
  Feb 16, 2011

  A school bus driver in High Point, NC has been charged with making an improper right turn.

  Gay Renee Clark of Greensboro was travelling down East Lexington Avenue and tried to make a right hand turn onto McGuinn Drive on February 9, 2011. Though school buses are notorious for making wide right hand turns, Ms. Clark chose to attempt a right hand turn from the left hand lane of traffic.

  Unfortunately, at the same moment, Lakeshia Nachele Welch of High Point was driving down East Lexington in the right hand lane. Her Pontiac struck the side of the school bus and was lodged beneath it. Miraculously, Ms. Welch appears to be unharmed.

  Nineteen students were onboard for the crash. Most of them were unscathed, but one was taken to a local hospital. Several other students were also injured.

• Omar Joseph Scott Charged in Hit-and-Run Death of Stefan Jalen Fairfax
  Jan 24, 2011

  The man who is allegedly responsible for fatally hitting Stefan Jalen Fairfax and then fleeing the scene of the accident is reportedly in Forsyth County jail after turning himself in to authorities on Friday, January 21, 2011.

  According to police, Omar Joseph Scott, 27, of Lexington, N.C. hit and killed 17-year-old Stefan Jalen Fairfax while he was waiting for a bus on North Cherry Street in Lexington on December 29, 2010.

  Stefan Jalen Fairfax was taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center after Mr. Scott’s 2008 Jeep Patriot ran off the road and struck him. Stefan died at the hospital.

  Mr. Scott has been charged with felony hit-and-run involving serious injury and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. Neither alcohol nor speeding is considered contributing factors in the tragic accident.

• Falen Helms Dies in Highway Accident near Archdale, NC
  Jan 24, 2011

  Falen Christine Helms, 28, of Thomasville, N.C. was driving down Interstate 85 near Archdale just before 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 22, 2011 when she was in a fatal accident.

  According to N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper K.M. Kutzer, Ms. Helms’s vehicle hit the head of a guardrail in the median of the highway. The impact knocked the battery out of her 2004 Acura RSX, rendering it immobile when it came to rest in the middle of the road.

  A second collision then occurred. A Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Arthur Ray Gurley, 51, of Salsbury, was travelling down the interstate at the time and t-boned Helms’s car on the passenger side. Trooper Kutzer said Mr. Gurley admitted he was travelling home from work with the vehicle in cruise control at 70 mph when he came upon Helms’s disabled Acura.

  No charges have been filed against Mr. Gurley. He was not speeding and is not suspected of driving while intoxicated. He sustained serious injuries as a result of the collision with Falen Helms's car.
  
  You can click to view an official accident report on www.egertonlaw.com.

• Michael Stewart Killed, 3 Injured in Forsyth Wreck Due to Wintry Weather
  Jan 13, 2011

  Michael Brian Stewart, 37, of Belews Creek, North Carolina was the passenger in an automobile accident on January 11, 2011 that took his life.

  Michael Stewart was riding in a Chrysler PT Cruiser when driver Brandon James Eckrote, 24, crossed the center line. Mr. Eckrote’s car passed in front of oncoming traffic and was t-boned by a van driven by Edward Odell Redmon, 36. Rory Christopher Goode, 26, was also in Brandon Eckrote’s car at the time of the fatal crash. Both young men sustained serious injuries as a result of the collision.

  Mr. Redmon was transported to Forsyth Medical Center while Mr. Eckrote and Mr. Goode were taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem to be treated.

  According to the N.C. Highway Patrol officers that investigated the collision, Mr. Eckrote was travelling at a speed to safe for the pernicious road conditions. He might also face charges for driving while intoxicated.

  A diagram and narrative descriptions from the official accident report are available at www.egertonlaw.com.

• BPD Officer Bruce Shoe Charged with Hit and Run
  Dec 23, 2010

  Burlington, NC police officer Bruce Shoe was charged with two counts of hit and run and two counts of reckless driving on December 21, 2010 for an incident that happened on the night of December 10, 2010 on Huffman Mill Road in Burlington.

  Officer Shoe allegedly hit a car driven by Susan Hunter, 64, of Elon, as the vehicles neared the intersection of Huffman Mill Road and Garden Road.

  Ms. Hunter claims that Officer Shoe hit her vehicle again before backing his truck into another car. Officer Shoe allegedly hit Judy Inscoe, 63, of Burlington as he attempted to make a U-turn.

  Next, Officer Shoe allegedly entered the parking lot of the apartment complex where he lives, and then returned to Huffman Mill Road where he struck a car driven by Shanta Jones, 23, of Burlington.

  Finally, Officer Shoe abandoned his pickup truck in a vacant parking lot close to the scene of the wrecks and his private residence.

  First Sgt. Chuck Slemenda of the NC Highway Patrol assumed the investigation of the incident when it became apparent that a local police officer’s vehicle was involved in the hit and run.

  Slemenda was in contact with Officer Shoe only a couple hours after the hit-and-run collisions. According to an article on news-record.com, Slemenda didn’t administer a breath test for alcohol, “even though Shoe allegedly showed signs of impairment,” because of the time that had passed since the accidents in question.

  The article does not state whether or not the victims Susan Hunter, Judy Inscoe or Shanta Jones were injured as a result of these crashes. Hopefully, they were unharmed.

• Crash on I40 Sends One to Baptist Hospital
  Dec 17, 2010

  Two of the three lanes on the westbound side of Interstate-40 near Clemmonsville Road in Forsyth County, North Carolina were closed this morning following a wreck involving a Highway Patrol car.

  The automobile accident happened around 8:30 a.m. on December 17, 2010. Most of central North Carolina witnessed a wintry weather mix yesterday that has left road conditions across the region slippery at best.

  At least one person was seriously injured during this collision. Forsyth County Emergency Services confirmed that one individual was transported to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem.