A Saturday afternoon drive on Hurdle Mills Road ended in tragedy for a Roxboro man when his car veered off the roadway and crashed, according to police. The single-vehicle wreck happened in the 900 block of Hurdle Mills Road/S. Main Street, where the car first hit an unoccupied parked vehicle before crossing the road and slamming into an embankment. First responders found the driver, the only person in the car, dead at the scene.
As reported by CBS17, the Roxboro Police Department identified the victim as 65-year-old James Richmond of Roxboro. The crash was reported around 4:15 p.m., and officers confirmed Richmond was the lone occupant of the vehicle.
Police said witnesses told investigators the vehicle went off the right side of the road before striking the parked car and then the embankment. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and the department is asking anyone with information to contact the Roxboro Police Department tip line at 336-322-6072.
Crash details and local history
That stretch of Hurdle Mills Road has seen deadly incidents before. In 2022, an 80-year-old driver was charged after a collision on the same road killed a 59-year-old woman who was in a wheelchair, according to WRAL. The earlier case, like this weekend’s fatal crash, has fed long-standing concerns about safety along parts of the corridor, though officials have not linked the incidents to a single cause.
How to help investigators
Roxboro police are urging anyone who saw the crash, or who may have dash-cam or other video from the area around the time of the wreck, to call the department’s tip line at 336-322-6072. Investigators said they plan to release additional information as their review continues and any lab results come back.
Officials have not released further details about what may have led up to the crash, according to CBS17. The Roxboro Police Department’s investigation remains ongoing.
