07/22/09 — Princeton man, 71, dies after being hit by truck

View Archive

Princeton man, 71, dies after being hit by truck

By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on July 22, 2009 1:46 PM

GREENVILLE -- A Princeton man hit by a tractor trailer on July 6 has died, the Highway Patrol said.

William Godwin, 71, had been in critical condition since a tractor trailer struck him while he was standing in the roadway near his home at 389 Luby Smith Road, near the Johnston County line.

Godwin died Thursday at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, First Sgt. Jerry Burton of the Wayne County Highway Patrol office said.

Investigators said Goodwin probably had been blowing grass off the road with his push lawn mower when struck by the truck and might have been standing in the roadway illegally.

The semi, driven by Teresa Morgan, 50, was coming around a curve in the road at about 50 mph, according to Highway Patrol Trooper R.T. Edwards.

The trooper had said that Ms. Morgan, who was driving the truck for Princeton-based K&E Farm Trucking, was not at fault in the accident and that no charges would likely be filed against her.

Ms. Morgan's truck ran into a nearby house after striking Godwin, Edwards said, coming to a stop in the living room of a home at 368 Luby Smith Road. No one inside the home was injured.

Godwin was originally treated at Wayne Memorial Hospital but was later taken to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville.