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A 24-year-old Raleigh, North Carolina woman pled guilty Monday in Pitt County Superior Court to driving while impaired and felony death by vehicle charges. The charges arose from an August 2009 accident that authorities say claimed the life of a passenger. The woman also pled guilty to misdemeanor hit-and-run allegations arising in an unrelated incident in May 2009.

The woman entered the guilty pleas Monday afternoon in Pitt County and was sentenced to the maximum term of 36 to 53 months in prison on the death by vehicle charge. The judge imposed a two year prison sentence on the DWI conviction and ordered that that sentence run consecutive to the death by vehicle sentence.

Generally, a consecutive sentence does not begin until a prior sentence is completed. For comparison, when a person is sentenced to concurrent sentences for separate offenses, the sentences are served at the same time.

The felony death by vehicle and DWI charges were filed after authorities say that the woman crashed her vehicle on Worthington Road east of County Home Road in August 2009. A 21-year-old man was thrown from the passenger seat as the woman’s Toyota Sequoia flipped several times, according to North Carolina State Police. The passenger suffered fatal injuries in the tragic wreck. The woman had been charged with second-degree murder

The same woman appeared in court last week on separate DWI charges. Tuesday, she was found guilty of DWI from allegations that arose in August 2008. At the hearing last week, the judge imposed a six-month sentence for the DWI conviction, which prosecutors say is the maximum sentence, according to the Greenville Daily Reflector.

Source: Greenville Daily Reflector, “Driver pleads guilty in fatal wreck,” Kristin Zachary, Jan. 28, 2013

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A young man is facing drunk driving charges after allegedly being in a car accident on Highway 13 near the Beaufort-Pitt County line over the weekend. Police believe the teen was heading east on Highway 33 when he lost control of his car. Authorities say that the car hit a road sign, careened into a ditch and slammed into a light pole, knocking it down.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol says that the teen called his family after the wreck. But troopers say the teen fled the area on foot. Troopers apparently responded to the scene of the accident and apparently waited for the teen’s family to arrive. Authorities say that the troopers commanded the family members to go find the teen.

The Highway Patrol says that the teen’s family brought him to the scene of the accident. At that point, the 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, leaving the scene of an accident and failing to maintain lane control.

It is not clear in the media what level of drunk driving charges the young man faces after the alleged incident. Most people know that the legal limit to drive in North Carolina is set at 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration. That is what is known as the per se level of impairment, where the law-unfortunately-assumes impairment for all drivers. However, law enforcement and prosecutors can also bring charges based upon the observations of officers in a normal DWI case, if the officers believe that the driver was impaired while driving.

But for underage drivers–those who are under the age of 21–North Carolina law allows authorities to pursue underage DUI charges based upon any evidence of consumption. A teen or 20-year-old driver can face underage drinking and driving charges when well below the general legal limit of 0.08 percent BAC.

Source: WITN, “Teen Flees Scene Of Wreck, Charged With DWI,” Dec. 17, 2012

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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

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The North Carolina Highway Patrol says a man took a bus for a ride Friday through more than one county. Law enforcement says after an apparent chase the Pitt County man was apprehended and charged with a number of offenses including a North Carolina DWI charge.

The Highway Patrol says the 33-year-old man hotwired a bus that belongs to a church in Winterville on Friday evening. Police believe the man fueled the bus and drove away. The bus reportedly is used in the church’s Success After School Program. The director of the program says she was closing up for the evening and noticed the bus was missing. She says one of the parents of a child in the program reported seeing the bus at Hess and Hayden and the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office was notified.

Law enforcement from several agencies reportedly joined in a chase that crossed from Pitt County to Craven County. Police used stop sticks at some point during the alleged incident. Eventually, police say the bus ran into a Pitt County Sheriff deputy’s car. Law enforcement claims the man attempted to flee the bus, but ran into the door as he tried to exit.

Police claim a liquor bottle and beer can were found inside the bus after the incident. The Pitt County man faces charges of DWI, felony speed to elude, driving while license revoked, assault on a government official, reckless driving and theft charges related to the bus and fuel.

Source: WCTI 12, “HP: Man Hotwires Bus, Leads Police On Chase,” Katie Jeffries 31 Jul 2011

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