Police: Speeding, Reckless Driving Factors in Fatal North Carolina Accident

GREENVILLE, NC. – July 18, 2018 (reflector.com) Speeding and reckless driving were factors in a fatal May 2018 vehicle accident in Greenville, North Carolina, according to updated police reports detailed on reflector.com.*

At approximately 5:45 a.m. on May 8, 19-year-old Dan Kenneth Wooten III, of Greenville, was driving a Ford Econoline van eastbound on Fifth Street in Greenville. Near Green Springs Park, Wooten veered across the centerline of the road and traveled into the path of an oncoming pickup truck. Wooten’s van overturned, and he was transported to Vidant Medical Center, where he tragically died of his injuries. The driver of the pickup, 50-year-old Gerald Lee Outlaw, of Windsor, North Carolina, was seriously injured in the crash but survived. 

Originally, the Greenville Police Department did not list of cause of the accident. However, the Department has since updated its crash report to include contributing factors to the crash. In the area of Fifth Street where the crash occurred, the posted speed limit is 35 mph. Outlaw was reportedly traveling 50 mph and slowed to 34 mph before impact. Wooten was reportedly traveling 49 mph and slowed to 47 mph before impact. This indicates speeding likely played a role in the crash.

The updated police report also states that Wooten was driving in an erratic, reckless, careless, negligent, or aggressive manner. Wooten was also wearing only a lap restraint at the time, not a lap and shoulder restraint. Wooten’s conduct, therefore, contributed to the crash. 

Both Wooten’s and Outlaw’s vehicles were seriously damaged, to the tune of more than $10,000, and neither of the men owned his vehicle. Wooten’s vehicle was owned by ACC Cleaning and Restoration, and Outlaw’s was owned by a resident of Winterville, North Carolina. 

Accident News is an archive of select Georgia car crashes, designed to alert and educate drivers, to help them avoid the most common causes of motor vehicle crashes.  If you or a family member are injured in an accident, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.  For more information about Montlick & Associates’ award-winning public service programs click here.  

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