The question of whether a state trooper’s driving caused the death of an East Carolina University intern is now poised to land in front of a Pitt County jury, after North Carolina’s highest court quietly stepped aside.
The N.C. Supreme Court declined to hear Trooper Omar Romero Mendoza’s appeal, leaving in place a ruling that revived a wrongful death lawsuit over a crash that killed 22-year-old ECU intern Michael Higgins during a nighttime ride-along on a rural Pitt County road in August 2020. The patrol cruiser ran off the road, hit a utility pole and trees, and Higgins, who was riding in the passenger seat, died at the scene, according to prior reporting from The News & Observer.
Higgins’ mother, Lisa Higgins, filed the wrongful death suit in 2022. A reconstruction cited in the appeals record found the Highway Patrol cruiser had been traveling at about 113 miles per hour shortly before it failed to navigate a curve and crashed, according to a published opinion from the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The appeals court reversed a June 2023 dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings in Pitt County.
Her attorney, Jim White, has said the family is prepared to see the case through. “If it takes a trial to get there, we’re ready,” he told The News & Observer. Romero’s lawyer, Brian Williams, has argued in court that the trooper was trying to catch up to a suspected drunk driver and that the wreck was the result of a brief mistake, not reckless disregard. The family’s complaint counters that Highway Patrol policies were ignored, including allowing an inexperienced trooper to take an intern on the road and failing to properly supervise the response that night.
Legal Stakes And Immunity
North Carolina law gives emergency responders limited leeway on speed limits during calls, but that break is not a free pass. Under N.C.G.S. § 20‑145, officers can still be found grossly negligent if they act with reckless disregard for the safety of others, even while responding to an emergency.
The Court of Appeals said there are real factual disputes a jury should sort out, not a judge on paper. Among them: how fast Romero was driving, whether he notified a supervisor about the pursuit, and whether the ride-along itself followed Highway Patrol policy. Because of those open questions, the panel concluded that summary judgment was inappropriate and that a jury should hear the evidence.
The trial court had originally tossed the case in June 2023. The appeals court brought it back to life in January 2025, and the matter then went up to the state Supreme Court. When the high court declined to review the case, it cleared the way for the lawsuit to return to Pitt County Superior Court for scheduling. No trial date has been set, and officials have not said whether the Highway Patrol will release any additional records tied to the crash.
For Higgins’ mother, a jury trial is about more than one night on a dark road. It is about accountability and the possibility of changing how the Highway Patrol handles interns and fast-moving pursuits. Attorneys for the trooper have warned that exposing officers to personal liability for split‑second decisions could make law enforcement more hesitant in emergencies. With the case now headed back toward a courtroom in Pitt County, those two very different visions of accountability will play out in front of a local jury.
