A motorcyclist died and his passenger was hospitalized after their bike collided with a tractor-trailer at the intersection of NC 11 and Grifton Hugo Road in Lenoir County last Friday afternoon. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol identified the rider as 42-year-old Martin Hugh Simonds, though a separate report spelled his surname as Simmonds.
According to WCTI, the motorcycle and tractor-trailer collided around 2:17 p.m. on October 23, though WITN reported the crash happened around 2:15 p.m. at the same intersection. Both outlets agree on the basic sequence of events: Simonds was riding east on Grifton Hugo Road when he failed to yield the right of way and entered the path of a southbound tractor-trailer on NC 11.
The tractor-trailer driver was identified as 60-year-old Glenwood Scott Mitchell, according to WNCT. The impact ejected both Simonds and his passenger from the motorcycle. Simonds died from his injuries, the station reported, while his passenger suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to ECU Health Medical Center in Greenville for treatment.
No Charges Expected
Troopers told WITN they do not expect to file charges in connection with the crash. The same no-charges outlook was echoed in WNCT's report, which noted that no charges had been filed as of its publication. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol assisted with the fatal collision, per the station's account, though a full crash report was not made public.
This is not the only fatal motorcycle crash Lenoir County has seen in recent weeks. On September 30, a 70-year-old motorcyclist named Keith Manning of Lagrange was killed in a collision on Jenny Lind Road near Bear Creek Road, the same outlet reported. Highway Patrol responded to that crash around 6:52 a.m. after officials said 31-year-old Shay Hill of Pikeville crossed the centerline in a 2003 Ford Focus SVT and struck Manning's motorcycle. Hill was treated at UNC Lenoir for non-life-threatening injuries, and the district attorney was consulted for charging purposes in that case.
Statewide Numbers Show Mixed Picture
The back-to-back fatalities come even as North Carolina's overall traffic safety numbers have been trending in a safer direction. The state recorded 1,524 traffic fatalities in 2025, the fewest since 2019, according to Yahoo News. Motorcyclist deaths specifically fell 15% last year, dropping to 164 statewide.
Still, the report found that alcohol was involved in nearly one-quarter of highway deaths in 2025, and speeding contributed to 22% of traffic fatalities statewide. The rate of crash injuries also fell to 38.3 people hurt for every 100 crashes, the lowest level since record-keeping began in 1960. No drugs or alcohol have been attributed to the NC 11 crash in any of the available reports.
Investigators have not released additional details about the circumstances leading up to the collision at Grifton Hugo Road, and the exact timeline of the crash remains inconsistent between reports. No further updates on charges or the passenger's condition have been made public.
