Lost one of our own

[Ncbosshoss]

Two Killed In Apparent Hit-And-Run On I-95



POSTED: 4:37 pm EST December 24, 2004
UPDATED: 9:07 pm EST December 24, 2004


ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. -- Authorities are investigating a fatal hit-and-run that happened on Interstate 95 between Wilson and Rocky Mount on Friday afternoon.

Two people were killed in the wreck that happened at 12:54 p.m. at mile marker 138 on the southbound side of I-95, just outside Rocky Mount.

State Highway Patrol troopers later stopped a red cab tractor trailer with flames painted on it with a Georgia license tag of C139436. After the wreck, the truck exited at mile marker 135 and was later stopped by authorities in Johnston County on Highway 301 in Four Oaks.

Authorities have not released the names of the victims in the wreck. The driver of the truck is being questioned by authorities.

According to the Highway Patrol, the wreck happened when an 18-wheeler was trying to merge and caused a Corvette to lose control. The Corvette had difficulty stopping and ended up hitting a pillar on a bridge.

Two people, a man and a woman, were in the Corvette and both died. The Corvette had Virginia plates. The road was littered with debris and Christmas presents that were in the car.



My notes: They showed a picture of the car and you barely could tell it was a corvette at all. I almost thought it was a C6 but it's hard to tell.

I'm so glad they caught the dude.

Chris

 

[MsSchroder]

Two people, a man and a woman, were in the Corvette and both died. The Corvette had Virginia plates. The road was littered with debris and Christmas presents that were in the car.

That is so sad. :cry

 

[Ncbosshoss]

It was indeed a red 2005 and it was a U.S. Marshal and his wife. Very sad.


Chris

 

[KANE]

I lived in NC for 23 years. The two WORST places for accidents seem to be I-40/85 through Greensboro and the stretch of I-95 from Rocky Mount through Fayetteville.

What a tragic way to celebrate a holiday. The fact the victim was a US Marshall who was killed as the result of someone else's irresponsible driving and subsequent fleeing the scene of the accident makes it that much worse.

I hope he gets a minimum of two counts of neglegent homicide or involuntary manslaughter.

 

[Lew W]

IMHO the driver of the truck would likely get off with a slap on the wrist if the 'Vette had been a Harley Davidson! Lew W

 

[Ken]

More on this in the following thread: http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/forums/showthread.php?p=485305&posted=1#post485305

 

[Scotty3]

Accident takes lives of Va. couple

By George A. Chidi, Rocky Mount Telegram


Saturday, December 25, 2004

Ten days from retirement, a deputy U.S. Marshal and his wife died on Christmas Eve in an accident on Interstate 95 between Wilson and Rocky Mount, the N.C. Highway Patrol said.

Delin Earl Wood Pearson, 50, died driving the new Corvette he bought as a retirement gift for himself, authorities said. His wife Janet Pearson, 47, died with him in the accident.

"It's a shock to our office. We are very much a family organization, and the office is relatively small in Richmond," said John F. Clark, U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Virginia. "His last official day would have been January 3. We just had his retirement luncheon last week."

The couple was heading south from their home in Richmond, Va., to his mother's house for Christmas, when an 18-wheeler tried to merge to an exit lane, said N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Schaberg.

The truck caused Pearson to lose control and hit a pillar on a bridge, he said.

The Corvette fell about 30 feet as it lost control, landing upside down. Debris and Christmas presents from the car littered the road, Schaberg said.

"As long as we've known Delin, he's had a Corvette, but he had a used one until now," Clark said. "He was a Corvette aficionado."

Highway patrol officers took truck driver Roy Lee Jones Jr., 38, of Hinesville, Ga., into custody after the accident.

Charges were changed Saturday from misdemeanors to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the wreck, Schaberg said.

"We have key witnesses now that say that they believe he was trying to elude arrest after the accident," Schaberg said.

 

[jrose7004]

That's too bad, I hate to hear that!

 

[Vettefan87]

That is terible, I can't believe the guy just drove off too, what a retard

 

[MoeJr]

He bought the Vette as his retirement gift. Some retirement now cause of something stupid. I hope it wasn't the Vette driver being the jerk here though if the other guy ran to me that says he was the aggressor.

 

['04 Torch Red]

That is so sad. :cry

I agree...its the first time in a long time I actually cried over something like this like this:cry

 

[dooscoop32]

Haven't you guys noticed how so many vehicles will try to take advantage of Corvettes in traffic? I'm sure they all think the Corvette drivers will always yield because they don't want to hurt their cars. But in doing so, they don't always analyze the situation and the consequences.
About one month after we bought our 2004 convertible, we were driving on a four-lane busy highway. Long before we got to it, I had been watching a dump truck waiting to enter the highway. With the usual variety of SUVs, minivans and normal cars ahead of us, the dump truck driver waited as they passed. The gaps between all of the vehicles was about the same. But as we approached, the dump truck pulled directly out in front of us!!
Now, you know as well as I do that he knew I was probably watching for him and he knew I would stop and had a car capable of a quick stop. So he took advantage of us. We nearly hit that bastard. As we blew around him after that incident and I expressed my "displeasure" with his actions, he just laughed and shook his head in a cocky way!!ad

CRVETTE

 

[I_R_DA_ONE]

After driving Corvettes for years, I have become a very defencive driver....I always expect the other drivers to be idiots and very seldom do they prove me wrong...I never spend time in a truckers blind spot....that is what my gas pedal was made for...
One good thing about his death, he died doing what he loved doing the most....that is driving his Vette with his wife by his side....I know this sounds bad, but sometimes we half to look at the bright side of things...
I worked in law inforcement for years and have seen too many people hurt because of stupid moves others have made.....

Mike

 

[dooscoop32]

After driving Corvettes for years, I have become a very defencive driver....I always expect the other drivers to be idiots and very seldom do they prove me wrong...I never spend time in a truckers blind spot....that is what my gas pedal was made for...
One good thing about his death, he died doing what he loved doing the most....that is driving his Vette with his wife by his side....I know this sounds bad, but sometimes we half to look at the bright side of things...
I worked in law inforcement for years and have seen too many people hurt because of stupid moves others have made.....

Mike

That reminds me of Dale Earnhardt. The one bright spot in his death is the fact that he died doing what he was born to do and what he loved to do.

CRVETTE