Driver released from Pitt; charges pending
By Gary Popp
Published in News on October 19, 2010 2:45 PM
Mark Aaron Pope, the 17-year-old driver in the single-car accident that took the lives of three people Oct. 10, has been released from Pitt Memorial County Hospital.
Pope is the lone survior of the crash. All the victims were from Fremont.
State Highway Patrol First Sgt. Jerry Burton said criminal charges against Pope are pending. The trooper who responded to the accident is expected to meet with the Wayne County District Attorney's office to discuss potential charges later this week, Burton said.
The accident occured around 3:30 a.m. Oct. 10 near the intersection of N.C. 222 and Airport Road.
Traveling west, Pope allegedly lost control of the vehicle in a curve, sending it swerving across the center line several times before it left the road and struck a large ditch, according to Highway Patrol reports. The car, a Honda Civic, is believed to have reached nearly 100 miles per hour. It overturned several times before coming to a stop on its roof.
Pope was the only person in the car wearing a seat belt, according to the report.
Killed in the wreck were Josh Brantley, 25, Ashley Haskins, 18, and Jacob Floars, 17. Pope and Ms. Haskins were graduates of Charles B. Aycock High School. Floars was a student at the school.