Tragic, Fatal Pedestrian Crash on Hillside Road in New Hanover County, North Carolina (NC)

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC- Wect.com writes that a drunk driver is now facing charges after he struck and killed a woman in New Hanover County. The crash occurred this week when the 30-year-old motorist collided with a 45-year-old woman and then fled the scene.*

Officers were later called to the site of the fatal hit-and-run at Hillside Road close to Carolina Beach Road. The victim was still lying in the roadway when the police arrived. Responders transported the woman to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center, but she was declared dead.

Based on vehicle evidence recovered at the scene, the police were able to identify the vehicle involved in the crash as a 2013 Chevrolet pickup truck. The officers identified the suspect and have since filed charges that include hit-and-run involving death and death by motor vehicle. 

According to the suspect’s wife, the couple was involved in an argument, and he then left the house in his truck. The wife stated that she heard him strike something with his vehicle as he drove away. 

About seven hours after the deadly crash, the suspect was determined to have a blood alcohol content of .18. The legal limit for motorists in South Carolina is .08, indicating that the driver’s BAC was more than two times that which is allowed by law. The suspect’s wife stated that he was drunk when he left their house prior to the crash. 

Prosecutors stated that they would be upgrading the charges against the suspect to include second-degree murder. According to reports, the suspect’s wife contacted police about her husband’s dangerous drinking and driving four times this year.

Alcohol-impaired drivers kill an average of 30 people a day in the United States. 

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Sources:

https://www.wect.com/2020/06/23/pedestrian-hit-killed-by-truck-southern-new-hanover-county-troopers-say/

https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/drunk-driving