The Highway Patrol has charged an 18 year old with the crash that killed a Tabor City woman and injured four other people.
Mathias James Pelot, 18, of 3686 Rough and Ready Rd., Chadbourn, was released on an unsecured bond after being taken into custody Wednesday, according to detention center reports. He is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and reckless driving to endanger.
Pelot crossed the centerline and struck one vehicle before colliding head-on with another on Peacock Road Nov. 9, according to the Highway Patrol. Misty Ezzell, 51, was driving her Honda SUV when Pelot’s Nissan SUV struck the two vehicles. Eric Blackwell, a passenger in Ezzell’s vehicle, was airlifted to New Hanover.
Nada Weatherford, 48, her husband Billy and mother Barbara Long were in the first vehicle Pelot struck, the crash report said. The Weatherfords were transported to an area trauma center. Mrs. Long did not sustain serious injuries.
Pelot was taken to Columbus Regional with non-life threatening injuries, and later transferred to New Hanover. He was charged after being released.
The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
