Fatal car accident in north carolina last night 2022

UPDATE: On Aug. 18, N.C. State Highway Patrol told McClatchy News the Dodge Challenger driver had been charged with unsafe passing and death by motor vehicle. The people who died in the crash were identified as 73-year-old Delois Redwine and 68-year-old Rita Wirts.

The original story is below.

Two people died and multiple children were injured after a head-on crash in North Carolina, officials said.

A Dodge Challenger was traveling through Harnett County when state troopers said the driver tried to go around a car in a no-passing zone. That’s when the Dodge hit a Pontiac that had been going in the opposite direction on Thursday, Aug. 11, according to N.C. State Highway Patrol.

The Pontiac driver and passenger — both adults — died at the scene. Two children riding in the back seat were injured and taken to a hospital in Fayetteville, Trooper James Collinsworth told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The Dodge driver was also hurt in the crash and taken to WakeMed in Raleigh, officials said.

Troopers responded at about 12:30 p.m. to State Route 1205, also called Olivia Road. The crash was reported on a stretch of road that is near the border with Lee County and about 50 miles southwest of Raleigh.

The two cars were left with serious front-end damage, according to video from ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.

As of Aug. 15, the Dodge driver had been charged in the fatal wreck. The driver is a juvenile, and highway patrol shared few details.

State troopers didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on Aug. 15.

This story was originally published August 16, 2022 10:48 AM.

A North Carolina driver took a child to day care and was heading to work before dying in a crash, officials said.

The N.C. State Highway Patrol said a pickup truck was stopped at an intersection outside Charlotte when an SUV hit it from behind. The SUV then “continued accelerating,” crossed to the other side of the road and ran into a tree on Thursday, Aug. 18, Trooper Ray Pierce told McClatchy News in a phone interview.

The SUV driver died at the scene from crash-related injuries. State troopers identified him as 37-year-old Joshua Matthew Mullins, as The Gaston Gazette reported earlier.

Officials reported being called at about 7:30 a.m. to the Gaston County crash site. The wreck happened near Hickory Grove and Lane roads, roughly 15 miles northwest of Charlotte.

At the scene, highway patrol said it didn’t find signs that Mullins had used his brakes or swerved before he struck the tree, which was several yards from where his SUV left the road. The 37-year-old’s relatives reported he experienced seizures in the past.

“We’re assuming that he was unconscious at the time or having some type of medical emergency,” Pierce told McClatchy News.

No one else was hurt in the crash that killed Mullins, who was a Gastonia resident.

This story was originally published August 18, 2022 3:28 PM.