No charges filed in pedestrian collision
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 30, 2015 1:46 PM
A pedestrian walking in the eastbound lane of N.C. Highway 55 was struck by a vehicle at 11:16 a.m. Monday.
The driver, a 28-year-old pregnant woman, began having what she thought were contractions.
The N.C. State Highway Patrol confirmed this morning that Julio Eriza, 21, of Seven Springs, was air lifted to Vidant Medical Center for treatment.
"From what I gathered, his injuries were non-life threatening. For his trauma, he was transported from Wayne Memorial Hospital to Vidant," Trooper Adam Hostinsky said.
The accident took place between Atlas Price Road and Camp Jubilee Road on N.C. Highway 55 East.
Ashley Levier, of Mount Olive, who is eight months pregnant, was heading east on N.C. Highway 55 while Eriza was walking east along the shoulder of the road.
"From what the driver told me, which there weren't any witnesses to corroborate, is that he looked at her before darting out into the roadway," Hostinsky said. The collision was unavoidable, he said.
"I can tell you definitively (Eriza) was in the middle of the road at the point of impact," Hostinsky said.
An EMS unit from Lenoir County was closest at the time of the wreck.
Ms. Levier told EMS workers she felt abdominal pain and thought she was having contractions. She was transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital where Hostinsky later confirmed she did not go into labor.