A man is dead and a 5-year-old child is in critical condition after an overnight crash in Wilson County, North Carolina, that began when troopers tried to pull over a speeding yellow Camaro and ended when the car slammed into a tree. The driver was killed instantly, and his young son was found unconscious in the floor of the backseat.
According to WITN, the man was driving a yellow Camaro on Old Raleigh Road when state troopers clocked him going 82 mph in a 55-mph zone. When troopers attempted to stop the car, the driver did not pull over. Instead, he kept accelerating, eventually pushing the Camaro into triple-digit speeds, as reported by WRAL.
Brief Chase Ends in Tragedy on a Curvy Road
A brief chase followed, with the Camaro disappearing from view on the winding road before it ran off the pavement and struck a tree, per the station's report. The driver was killed instantly. His 5-year-old son was found unconscious in the floor of the backseat.
The child was taken by ambulance to Wilson Medical Center before being flown to ECU Medical Center in Greenville for more advanced care. As of the night before the report, the child remained in critical condition, according to troopers cited in the same account. The driver's identity had not been released, with authorities saying it was pending notification of his family.
Speeding Preceded This Crash
Troopers clocked the Camaro at 82 mph in a 55-mph zone before the driver continued accelerating.
The Wilson Times also found that alcohol use was a factor in 15.6% of the county's fatal wrecks and 15.3% of its injury crashes. The driver continued speeding after troopers tried to stop him.
Statewide, speeding contributed to 21.4% of all crash fatalities, according to a crash-facts snippet from the North Carolina Department of Transportation, which also noted a 12 percent surge in pedestrian deaths. Those figures reflect broader trends rather than this specific case, but they frame just how often speed factors into the state's deadliest crashes.
No further details have been released about potential charges or the status of the investigation into overnight's crash. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available, including confirmation of the driver's identity once his family has been notified.
