No written report yet on hit-and-run
By Lee Williams
Published in News on March 8, 2007 1:56 PM
The lab results have been phoned in, but the local district attorney wants to see written proof before he decides whether to charge the elderly driver in a hit-and-run accident that killed a Goldsboro man Nov. 7.
Carol Coletrain Lane, 72, of Beston Road, LaGrange, is alleged to be at fault in the traffic fatality that killed 47-year-old Andy Melvin Anderson. Ms. Lane was driving a white 1992 Buick LeSabre when she struck and killed Anderson as he crossed the median on U.S. 70 East near Long's Plant Farm Road, Highway Patrol officials said.
A lab report containing evidence collected from Ms. Lane's vehicle was submitted by North Carolina Bureau of Investigations crime scene investigators to the state crime lab Nov. 27.
Two months later, the results were called in to Wayne County District Attorney Branny Vickory, but he said he wanted to see the report before deciding whether to present the case to a grand jury for review.
SBI spokeswoman Noelle Talley confirmed the lab results were phoned in to Vickory's office. However, it remained unclear when the written report would be forwarded to the prosecutor's office.
Vickory said Monday he had not received the report.
The evidence from Ms. Lane's car was collected Nov. 9 after it was spotted in a restaurant parking lot. Authorities swarmed the Buick, which had a broken headlight, a cracked windshield and a damaged front-end. They later found Ms. Lane inside the restaurant.
They asked the Wayne County resident about the damage. However, Ms. Lane told authorities she thought she hit a sign.
Investigators said the accident occurred about 5:55 p.m. Nov. 7. The conditions were rainy and dark. Anderson was wearing dark-colored clothing and was carrying beverages in his hand at the time of the crash.
Ms. Lane said she remembered hitting something, but she added that she thought it was a sign, not a man. If she would have known, she would have stopped, she said.