A 57-year-old Asheboro woman died Tuesday afternoon after she was struck and trapped beneath a pickup truck in the parking lot of a Walmart on East Dixie Drive, and police now say no charges will be filed in connection with her death.
Amy Jeffries Brewer was hit by a 2022 Rivian R1T, an electric pickup, at about 2 p.m. on Oct. 20 in the lot at 1226 E. Dixie Drive, according to courier-tribune.com. Officers came to the scene just before 2 p.m. after receiving a report of a crash involving a vehicle and a pedestrian, as reported by cbs17.com. At the scene, police found Brewer trapped underneath the truck, and the Asheboro Fire Department worked to free her.
Brewer was taken by stretcher to Randolph Health, according to WXII, with police saying AirCare was awaiting at the hospital for her arrival. She was too unstable to be airlifted, and shortly after EMS arrived, CPR was initiated, per the same cbs17.com account. Brewer was pronounced dead at 3:13 p.m., police said.
Driver's Identity Withheld as Investigation Continues
The name of the pickup's driver was not released, the station's report notes. The deadly crash remained under investigation while police consulted the Randolph County District Attorney's Office on potential charges, per the same account. By later in the week, authorities had determined that no charges will be filed after that consultation, courier-tribune.com reports.
One Walmart customer told WGHP that he thinks ongoing construction, combined with the parking lot's tight and confusing layout, may have played a role in the crash. That observation reflects one shopper's opinion rather than an official determination, and police have not attributed a specific cause to the collision.
A Pattern of No-Charge Outcomes in Recent NC Pedestrian Deaths
Brewer's death echoes another recent case roughly three hours west of Asheboro, in Asheville. Police there said a driver who struck and killed a pedestrian on Tunnel Road in September would not be charged, according to the Citizen Times. That crash happened around 8:16 p.m. on Sept. 10 in the 1140 block of Tunnel Road, when a 2016 Nissan Rogue traveling east through a green light struck a pedestrian who was in the road and not in a crosswalk. Police identified that victim as 71-year-old Andrew Joseph Kolvick of Asheville, who was taken to Mission Hospital and died.
Both cases underscore how pedestrian fatalities in North Carolina parking lots and roadways can end without criminal charges even after a death. The circumstances of the Asheboro crash, including whether visibility or right-of-way played any role, have not been detailed by police.
