01/18/11 — Driver, 21, critical after crash

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Driver, 21, critical after crash

By Gary Popp
Published in News on January 18, 2011 1:46 PM

A single-car accident Saturday on Dollard Town Road has left a Goldsboro man severely injured.

Brooks Thomas Best, 21, of Lakeshore Drive, remains in critical condition at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

Investigators with the N.C. Highway Patrol said alcohol and speed contributed to the accident, which occurred at 1:30 a.m. Saturday in the 1300 block of Dollard Town Road, which is located east of Goldsboro.

Best was driving, investigators said.

Highway Patrol officials said in their report that the vehicle, a 2004 Chevrolet sport utility vehicle, reached approximately 100 mph before the crash.

Troopers said the vehicle struck a mailbox on the right side of road, at which point the driver overcorrected, running the vehicle off the left side of the road, where he again overcorrected and lost control.

The SUV overturned several times before coming to a rest on the right side of the road in a small bed of trees, investigators said.

During the incident, Best was ejected from the vehicle.

Justin Edward Allen, 21, Park Avenue, was the single passenger in the vehicle. Allen was treated and released from Wayne Memorial Hospital, officials said.

The Highway Patrol's accident report shows that Allen was wearing his seat beat, and Best was not.

Best has been charged with driving while impaired, open container, reckless driving, failure to wear a seat belt, exceeding the posted speed and driving left center.