A 51-year-old Tabor City woman died Thursday evening after a chain-reaction crash on a Columbus County road sent an SUV slamming head-on into her Honda. Four other people were transported for care: one was airlifted, two were taken to a hospital, and one was transported by ambulance and later transferred. The collision occurred near Peacock Road and Woddrow Cribb Road at 6:33 p.m.; Ezzell was pronounced dead following the crash.
According to Columbus County News, 18-year-old Mathis James Pelot was headed north on Peacock Road when he crossed the centerline and sideswiped a Nissan SUV driven by 48-year-old Nada Weatherford. That Nissan was then knocked into the southbound lane, where it struck Ezzell's vehicle head-on, per the Highway Patrol's account relayed in the report.
A Passenger's Identity in Question
The crash left multiple people needing hospital care. The outlet's published report names a passenger riding in Ezzell's SUV as Erik Blackwell, who was airlifted to New Hanover Novant, while a separate seed-fact record tied to the same report identifies that passenger as Jerry Blackwell. The two accounts conflict on the passenger's first name, and that discrepancy has not been independently resolved.
Weatherford and her husband, Billy, were both transported to McLeod Loris Hospital, the outlet's report states. Riding in the front passenger seat of Weatherford's vehicle was 78-year-old Barbara Long, who was not injured. Pelot was taken by ambulance to Columbus Regional with non-life-threatening injuries and was later transferred to New Hanover, the same report notes.
Highway Patrol Investigation Continues
The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash, and the report carrying these details was updated at 1:29 p.m. with a correction, though it does not specify what was corrected. Anyone seeking an official record of the collision would need to go through a formal process: the North Carolina Department of Public Safety notes that crash reports in its system are not certified, and that a certified report must instead be requested through the NC DMV, with reports typically entered into the system within five to seven business days.
Ezzell's obituary, posted on Legacy.com, confirms she was 51 and lived in Tabor City, and lists her name as Misty Ezzell. As of the obituary's publication, service arrangements were incomplete and were to be announced later by Inman Ward Funeral Home & Crematory.
A County With a Troubled Safety Record
The fatal crash lands in a county that has struggled with road safety for years. A national analysis covering 2018 through 2021 found Columbus County recorded 21.14 traffic fatalities per 10,000 people, ranking it sixth-worst in the country, while neighboring Robeson County ranked third worst nationally with 22.57 deaths per 10,000 people, according to Border Belt. That same stretch saw 107 traffic deaths in Columbus County and 263 in Robeson County.
Border Belt also reported that Columbus County has ranked among the state's 10 worst counties for traffic safety every year since 2019, while Robeson County has held the state's worst ranking for two decades. For 2019 through 2021, the outlet found that about 30% of drivers in fatal crashes in Robeson County were speeding, compared with 24% statewide, and that nearly 42% of fatal Robeson County crashes involved someone not wearing a seat belt, versus 31.4% statewide.
More recent figures suggest some improvement locally. A report covered by WECT found that crashes, injuries and deaths all declined in Bladen and Columbus counties, down 4%, 10% and 8% respectively. But the same report flagged a troubling exception: biking and pedestrian deaths in those two counties rose 4%. The state transportation department said it would keep identifying and pursuing projects aimed at reducing crashes and improving roadway safety.
