North Carolina Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A drunk driving car accident in Raleigh left one teen dead, another teen facing multiple criminal charges, and charges against the man who provided the alcohol that caused the wreck.

The accident occurred when 16 year old Garrett Prince rounded a curve in a residential neighborhood at a speed of 75mph and lost control of the vehicle, crashing into a tree. His 17 year old passenger, Elizabeth Molloy, died as the result of this crash. Neither Prince nor Garrett were wearing seatbelts.

Our North Carolina drunk driving car accident lawyers have learned that Prince has been charged with Felony Death by Motor Vehicle, Possession of Marijuana, Open Container of Alcohol, Driving While Impaired, and Driving After Consuming Alcohol While Anderage.

Also charged in connection with this fatal accident is Anthony Du Juan Geter, who has been charged with three counts of Aiding and Abetting Persons Under 21 in Possessing or Purchasing Alcohol. Police report that Geter supplied Prince, Molloy and 2 other teens with two (2) 1.75 liter bottles of rum. North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement agents are considering more charges.

Continue reading "Man Charged For Giving Alcohol To Minors Involved In Deadly Collision" »

The North Carolina workers' compensation attorneys at Auger & Auger have learned from the North Carolina Department of Labor that fatal accidents in the workplace are on the rise.

According to the Department of Labor, 53 people were involved in fatal work-place accidents in North Carolina in 2011. This is an increase from 2010, when 50 people had died in work related accidents.

There were 5 deaths in Mecklenburg County in 2011, down from 7 in 2010. Wake County led the state with 6 fatal job site accidents.

The majority of work place fatalities involved men (52 out of the 53 were men) and occurred in construction jobs (16 fatalities), followed by agriculture, forestry and fishing (10). Next were transportation and public utilities (5), government (5), and wholesale trade(5). There were 4 fatalities in retail trade and the service industry. There were only 3 fatalities in the manufacturing field. No fatalities were reported in the fields of real estate, insurance, and finance.

Continue reading "Fatal Accidents In The Workplace On The Rise" »

Prosecutors in Loup City, Nebraska have decided they have enough evidence to try Brian Packer for manslaughter in the wrongful death of two North Carolina stepbrothers.

Back in early July, 12 year old Joshua Rowley, and his 19 year old stepbrother, Matthew McAlexander, both of Kernersville, NC, were attending a family reunion in Kearney, Nebraska. Part of the festivities included tubing at Sherman Reservoir. The holiday weekend came to a tragic end when the boys were struck by a pontoon boat while being pulled on a tube behind a ski boat. Joshua was pronounced dead at the scene, and stepbrother Matthew died a short while later.

Dale Davis, a conservation officer with Nebraska Game and Parks Commission reported that his investigation found that Packer was operating his pontoon boat in a north-northwesterly direction in Sherman Reservoir, while the ski boat hauling the stepbrothers was traveling in an easterly direction. Officer Davis stated that based on boating rules requiring boaters to give each other the right of way, Packer was the one with the right of way. A passenger on Packer's boat stated that he did see the ski boat, but did not see the tube it was pulling, and that by the time the tube was visible, it was too late to avoid the collision, though Packer did try to take evasive action.

Investigating officers reported that Packer consumed approximately 8 beers, and that his blood-alcohol level was higher than the legal limit when he crashed his pontoon boat into the brothers. A blood alcohol test taken at an area hospital found Packer to have a blood alcohol level of .089.

Continue reading "Stepbrothers Killed in Boating Accident, Manslaughter Charges Follow" »

A tragic North Carolina Motorcycle accident has claimed the lives of a Burke County father and son. Steven Moody and his 19 year old son Kevin were killed when Amie Jo Skeen crossed the center line on Airport Rhodiss Road, hitting the motorcyclists head-on.

Skeen has been charged with Driving While Impaired and Felony Hit and Run. Investigating officers say that Skeen hit the side of one motorcycle and continued driving, and just seconds later, crashed head on into Moody's motorcycle, killing Moody and his son. The driver and passenger of the first motorcycle she hit were not seriously injured.

Investigation by North Carolina Highway Patrol found that after crashing head on into the Moody's, Skeen continued driving for another half mile before driving into a wooded location, presumably to hide the car. A witness foiled Skeen's attempt to evade police when he followed her, saw her park her car behind a building and then run into the woods. The witness alerted police to Skeen's location.

Upon her arrest, Skeen denied that she was driving and told a WSOC-TV reporter "I couldn't have been driving. I was too high." According to court documents, Skeen also claimed that "crackhead zombies" were driving her car.

Continue reading "Intoxicated Driver Takes The Life Of Father And Son Motorcyclists" »

One month after the family of North Carolina wrongful death victim, Darryl Turner, was awarded $10 million, a Fayetteville man has died after being Tased by police.

On August 25, Michael Evens was seen acting in an erratic manner and was allegedly trying to jump into the path of vehicles in the roadway. Police attempted to arrest Evans, and when he resisted, a Taser was used. Following the stun by Taser, Evans collapsed. He was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Several days later, Fayetteville Police suspended the use of Tasers while they investigate this incident and can figure out whether they are safe for use.

Just hours after a jury awarded $10 million to North Carolina wrongful death victim, Darryl Turner, another Charlotte man died after being tasered by police.

Lorenzo Williams, who an acquaintance described as having a prior criminal history that included assault on a female, among other charges, was pronounced dead shortly after being tasered by police while he was in the process of beating a woman.

Although the police use of the taser against Williams appeared to be justified, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has suspended the use of Tasers for up to 45 days. According to witnesses, Williams and a female companion exited the Lynx line at the Woodlawn station and were arguing. Williams was seen choking and beating the woman. It was during the assault that a CMPD officer fired his Taser at Williams.

Police did not release information regarding where Williams was tasered, but did state that the event was likely captured on video camera and they would be analyzing those films.

The family of North Carolina wrongful death victim, Darryl Turner, was awarded $10 million after a jury found that there was a great risk of cardiac arrest if a taser was discharged into the chest area near the heart, that Taser International knew of the risk, and that Taser International failed to so warn its users.

In March, 2008, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police were summoned to the Food Lion where Turner was working in order to remove Turner from the premises. Turner, who hadn't actually been charged with a crime, had thrown something at his employer, and was in possession of 3 bags of marijuana. Due to his "agitated" state, Turner was ultimately tased by the police. An autopsy found no evidence or pre-existing heart conditions, and that Turner died as the result of his excessive and irregular heart beat.

Turner's family had already been paid $625,000 by the City of Charlotte, even though it denied it had done anything wrong, prior to the verdict. Following Turner's death, all CMPD officers had to receive more training with the use of Tasers.

A pair of North Carolina tractor trailer accidents claimed several lives on June 30.

Thursday, June 30 was a deadly day on North Carolina's highways. The first North Carolina truck accident occurred just before 10am on I85 in Orange County and actually involved 2 separate truck accidents. The first tractor trailer accident occurred when a tractor trailer was speeding along I85 south and lost control and flipped. As the result of that accident, traffic on I85 was backed up for nearly 1 mile. It was at the end of the traffic pile-up where the second, and ultimately fatal, accident occurred. Another tractor trailer traveling southbound on I85 did not slow for traffic and slammed into the rear of a tanker truck causing the tractor trailer truck to burst into flames. The driver of the tractor trailer truck was killed. The impact also caused the tanker truck to crash into 2 other vehicles, causing non-life threatening injuries.

Continue reading "Pair of Tractor Trailer Accidents Claim Several Lives" »

Members of Corinth Baptist Church in Gaffney headed to county-owned Cleveland Park on Saturday to participate in a children's day event. What was supposed to be a fun-filled family event turned tragic when a miniature train overturned, killing a 6 year-old boy, and injuring 25 others.

Killed in the crash was Benjamin "Benji" Easler, son of Pastor Dwight Easler, who was injured in the wreck along with his two older sons, who suffered broken bones and facial scarring.

According to Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, South Carolina State officials had inspected the ride and had conducted several test runs, just 3 days before the park opened for the season on Saturday. The ride had been operating for about an hour on opening day when the train's track collapsed, causing it to derail and overturn.

Continue reading "Child Killed on Local Amusement Park Ride" »

A motorcycle that police say was traveling at a high rate of speed crashed into an SUV Saturday, killing both the driver and passenger of the motorcycle, and seriously injuring the driver and passenger of the SUV.

According to Matthews Police, Gloria Escobar was making a left turn from Independence Boulevard into a parking lot when motorcyclist Craig Anderson, with passenger Tiffany Johnson, was traveling westbound on Independence Boulevard at a high rate of speed, and crashed into Escobar's vehicle. The force of the impact caused Escobar's SUV to overturn, trapping Escobar and her husband, Alfredo Morales, inside.

Police say that Anderson and Johnson were killed on impact, and that Escobar has been hospitalized and is in serious condition. Morales has also been hospitalized.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 35% of fatal motorcycle wrecks in 2008 involved speeding, compared to only 23% for passenger vehicles. NHTSA has also found that for every mile traveled in 2007, a motorcyclists was 37 times more likely to die in a crash than an occupant of a passenger vehicle, and 9 times more likely to be injured.

The motorcycle accident attorneys at Auger & Auger urge you to exercise caution while riding.