North Carolina Highway Patrol has said that a man from Rocky Mount, NC died in a deadly Greenville, NC car accident Monday morning. Troopers say the Pitt County accident left 54-year-old William Thorpe dead after another vehicle ran a stop sign.
According to police, the deadly accident occurred around 8 a.m. near the intersection of NC Highway 30 and Oakley Road. Police officers say that a Dodge pickup truck that was hauling a horse trailer ran through a stop sign and smashed into Thorpe’s Toyota Prius.
Police said the driver of the Dodge was a 37-year-old from Washington, NC. The driver of the pickup was also injured in the accident and was taken to Vidant Medical Center for surgery. A passenger in the Dodge was also injured in the accident but has already been treated and released. Police say the driver of the truck has a registration from Virginia but they believe he has recently relocated to North Carolina.
This crash demonstrates just how dangerous something so small as running a stop sign can be. Other drivers don’t stand a chance when a fast moving object slams into them unexpectedly. Though the man responsible for the crash has not yet been charged, criminal action might still occur. Though many people may not think there’s harm in rolling through a stop sign, the fact is such actions are responsible for thousands of car accidents each year. According to a federal survey, there were more than 13,000 fatal accidents caused by running stop signs between 1999 and 2000.
State law in North Carolina is clear that partial stops are not acceptable and will result in a traffic violation. Cars must come to a complete stop at the sign even if there is no other visible car, in some cases blind intersections can obscure your line of sight and you may not realize another car is in the vicinity. Running stop signs is often caused by impatience or inattention. Too many drivers feel they are in too much of a hurry to fully stop. This rush can turn deadly, just like this case. In other cases, drivers are distracted with other things going on inside their car and do not even realize there is a stop sign until it is too late.
If someone you love died due to the reckless or negligent behavior of another person, you’re likely confused about how to begin the process of holding the at-fault party accountable for his or her actions. Wrongful death actions can be confusing and are often unfamiliar to most people who, thankfully, have little experience with such lawsuits. If you recently lost a loved and are not sure how to move forward, it might be helpful to check out my firm’s answers to some frequently asked questions regarding wrongful death claims. For more information on the process, you can also read through my firm’s guide on the wrongful death claims process in North Carolina by clicking here.
Here’s a Google Map showing the location of the deadly accident:
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