Girl, 5, grandfather die when truck hits tractor
By John Joyce
Published in News on May 19, 2013 1:50 AM
A Wayne County man and his 5-year-old granddaughter were killed Friday when the tractor he was driving was struck from behind by a pickup truck on Baker Chapel Church Road in Mount Olive.
The accident occurred just after 9 p.m.
The driver of the tractor, 48-year-old Terry Glenn Lee, of 489 Baker Chapel Church Road, died at the scene.
The girl, 5-year-old Kelsey Renee Davidson, died at 2:39 a.m. Saturday at Wayne Memorial Hospital.
The driver of the pickup truck, 21-year-old Michael Johnathan Obrien, of 186 Bowden Road, was not cited in the accident.
Trooper B.K. Leonard of the N.C. State Highway Patrol said that alcohol on the part of the deceased may have been a contributing factor.
"I say that because of the strong odor of alcohol on the (deceased)," he said.
Leonard also explained that the tractor did not have functioning lights -- another factor that may have contributed to the fatal crash.
"Also it did not appear that lighting on the tractor had worked for some time," Leonard said.
He also listed failure to reduce speed on the part of Obrien as a factor, but again Obrien was not charged.
The accident investigation is ongoing and charges may be presented after the matter is discussed with the District Attorney's office.
It is not known exactly where Miss Davidson was seated on the tractor. There were no witnesses to the actual impact of the collision.