Elizabeth City police were called just after 5 a.m. Sunday to a vehicle crash near Halstead Boulevard Extended and Thunder Road, and what they found at the scene turned a routine collision call into a stabbing investigation. Officers discovered 38-year-old Jeremy Lee unconscious behind the wheel, struggling to breathe, with injuries that would soon point to something far more violent than a car wreck.
Elizabeth City Police Department officers responded to the reported collision near Halstead Boulevard Extended and Thunder Road, according to 13News Now. Officers found Lee unconscious in the driver's seat with irregular breathing, and the outlet's report describes his injuries as consistent with a motor vehicle collision. WITN, however, reported that Lee's injuries did not appear to have come from a car crash at all, quoting police as saying he was unconscious with irregular breathing and wounds that didn't match the collision.
Officers began life-saving measures on Lee at the scene, with the Pasquotank County Sheriff's Office and emergency medical personnel assisting, per the 13News Now report. He was first transported to Sentara Albemarle Medical Center before being airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for further treatment, the station notes. Lee sustained multiple stab wounds, according to the same account.
Investigators Trace the Attack Back to a Suspect
As officers worked to stabilize Lee, detectives began piecing together what had actually happened before the crash. WITN reported that just after 5 a.m., Elizabeth City police were called to the crash near Halstead Boulevard Extended and Thunder Road, and officers then learned that 38-year-old Stevette Skinner had stabbed Lee multiple times, leading to the collision.
ECPD detectives identified the location of the assault and the individual responsible, the 13News Now report states. Skinner, who is from Elizabeth City, was arrested, processed and transported to Albemarle District Jail, according to the same account.
Charges and Court Appearance
WITN reported that Skinner was charged Sunday with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and remains behind bars without bond. Under North Carolina law, that offense is punishable as a Class C felony, according to the North Carolina General Assembly's statute, though the evidence reviewed does not establish how Skinner's case will ultimately be resolved.
Skinner made her first court appearance in Pasquotank District Court, per the 13News Now report. Police described the investigation as ongoing and ECPD urged anyone with information related to the incident to come forward, the outlet added.
