Kinston man dies in crash on U.S. 70
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on July 12, 2006 1:51 PM
A 69-year-old man from Kinston died Tuesday from injuries in a head-on collision on Dr. M.L. King Jr. Expressway, the U.S. 70 bypass, a Goldsboro police spokesman said.
The victim was identified as Maurice Ray Hill, who was traveling east at about 5:50 p.m. Hill was rushed by ambulance to Wayne Memorial Hospital and then airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville. Police Maj. M.D. Hopper said Hill's family had been notified of his death.
The other driver, Shannon Irene Jones, 23, of Runnel Place, also was injured. She was in fair condition this morning.
Ms. Jones told police that a tractor-trailer truck was merging onto the bypass from the Wayne Memorial Drive exit ramp and had forced her westbound car into the median. Her car then crossed the median and ran into Hill's oncoming auto, according to Goldsboro police reports.
The big rig did not stop, and Hopper said the collision remained under investigation by Officer Donna Elliott. No charges have been filed.
Hill's 1992 Cadillac, valued at $3,000, was demolished. Damage was estimated at $3,000 to Ms. Jones' 2001 Honda.
Two other eastbound drivers who were following Hill could not avoid the wreckage, police said, and their cars were struck.
Henry Lawson Kent, 62, of Billy Price Road, Seven Springs, and Claudia T. Fordham, 52, of Fordham Place complained of minor injuries, officials said.
Damage was estimated at $3,000 to Kent's 2005 Chevrolet and $2,000 to Ms. Fordham's 2005 Toyota.
The fatality was the first this year on Goldsboro streets.
The wrecks blocked rush-hour traffic for about an hour in the eastbound lanes of the busy, four-lane divided highway.
Some drivers detoured around the damaged autos on the service road while others waited in line for the wreckage to be cleared.
The Goldsboro Fire Department and the Highway Patrol assisted at the scene.