Raleigh Mother Held on $400K Bond After Deadly Wilmington Crash With Six Kids in Car

A Raleigh woman is being held on a $400,000 bond after Wilmington police say she caused a fatal crash on Carolina Beach Road late Friday night with six children, ages 3 to 10, riding in her car. Tierra Blackston now faces felony death by vehicle charges along with a string of misdemeanor counts tied to the collision near Legion Stadium.

Wilmington Police Department officers responded around midnight Friday to the 2100 block of Carolina Beach Road, closing the busy corridor to investigate the fatal wreck, according to Fox Wilmington. As reported by WECT, Blackston was arrested after allegedly crashing into another person and killing them, and she is now held at the New Hanover County Detention Center. The victim's identity has not been publicly released, WECT notes.

Investigators say Blackston was driving recklessly at the time of the crash, and court records allege she was under the influence of an impairing substance. She was charged with felony death by vehicle, misdemeanor driving while impaired, misdemeanor reckless driving with wanton disregard, misdemeanor child abuse, and misdemeanor driving while license revoked, per the same account from WECT.

Six Children Allegedly Left Unrestrained

Arrest records accuse Blackston of failing to secure the six children, ranging in age from 3 to 10, in required safety seats. Under North Carolina's Child Passenger Safety Law, drivers must properly restrain all passengers under age 8 and weighing under 80 pounds in an approved child restraint system, a standard laid out by North Carolina's General Assembly. Separately, state law under N.C. General Statute § 14-318.2 classifies misdemeanor child abuse as a Class A1 misdemeanor — the highest misdemeanor level in the state — for a caregiver who creates or permits a substantial risk of physical injury to a child under 16, punishable by up to 150 days in jail.

The presence of the children in the vehicle also carries weight for Blackston's DWI exposure. Under N.C. General Statutes § 20-179, transporting a minor passenger while committing driving while impaired is a grossly aggravating factor that automatically elevates sentencing to a mandatory Level One punishment, according to Browning & Long, PLLC. That classification can carry mandatory active jail time or strict probation conditions under state law.

Felony Charge Carries Up to 17 Years

The most serious charge Blackston faces, felony death by vehicle, is a Class D felony under N.C. General Statutes § 20-141.4(a1) and carries a potential prison sentence of up to 204 months — 17 years — if driving while impaired is proven to be the proximate cause of the fatality, per Justia Law. Prosecutors must prove both underlying impairment and direct causation for a conviction on that count.

Blackston's additional charge of driving while license revoked stems from an underlying impaired driving revocation, which is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor under N.C. General Statute § 20-28(a1) and carries mandatory extended license revocation periods along with potential continuous alcohol monitoring, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.

Corridor Long Flagged as High-Risk

The crash site sits along a stretch of roadway that has drawn scrutiny from Wilmington planners for years. A 2023 city transportation study tied to the Walk Wilmington initiative found that half of all traffic collisions in the city occur on just 10% of its streets, and identified Carolina Beach Road as one of the municipality's highest-risk arterial corridors, according to Port City Daily. Regional planning documents from the Cape Fear Public Transportation Authority also designate Carolina Beach Road, part of U.S. Route 421, as a heavily traveled commercial and commuter corridor prone to frequent crashes and in need of targeted lane and intersection safety improvements.

Court Appearance Set for Monday

Blackston is expected in court Monday, August 24. Under N.C. General Statute § 15A-601, felony defendants held in custody must receive a first appearance before a District Court judge within 72 to 96 hours to review bail conditions, formal charges, and legal representation, per the University of North Carolina School of Government. That hearing is expected to take place at the New Hanover County Courthouse at 316 Princess Street in downtown Wilmington, which processes preliminary felony matters for law enforcement arrests in the county.

Several key details remain unresolved. The identity of the person killed in the crash has not been made public, and toxicology results specifying the impairing substance involved have not been disclosed. It is also unclear what has happened to the six children since the crash, or whether the judge will alter Blackston's $400,000 bond at Monday's hearing.