Pitt County rollover crash leads to DWI charges for Parmele man
A man is accused of drunk driving in a roll over crash September 17 in Pitt County. Four people were injured, including the 16-year-old son of the man accused of driving while impaired (some media reports say that the son is 17-years-old). The North Carolina Highway Patrol says that a trooper smelled alcohol on the 41-year-old driver before he was transported to Vidant Medical Center.
Authorities say that the accident occurred on U.S. 64 Alternate near Porter Road shortly after 5:30 in the afternoon. Three passengers were in the vehicle. Besides the driver’s son, troopers say an 18 or 19-year-old relative of the driver and a 21 or 22-year-old Parmele man were passengers in the car. All three passengers and the driver suffered undisclosed injuries, but troopers say all are expected to survive.
Authorities claim that the 41-year-old driver was traveling east on U.S. 64 at roughly 90 miles per hour. Troopers think that the Parmele, North Carolina man lost control of his vehicle while trying to navigate a curve about 2.5 miles west of Bethel, North Carolina. Authorities say that the car went into a ditch, roiling over and ejecting at least one of the passengers. One of the passengers was airlifted from the scene. All four occupants of the vehicle were taken to Vident after the wreck.
Few details about the police investigation have been made available in the public media. Authorities say that the Parmele man will be facing DWI and reckless driving charges after the Monday afternoon crash.
Sources:
- Greenville Reflector, “Man charged with DWI in Bethel wreck,” Sep. 19, 2012
- WITN, “Troopers: Drunk Driving Wreck Sends 4 To Hospital,” Sep. 17, 2012
Tags: Charges, County, Crash, Leads, Parmele, Pitt, rollover