North Carolina Highway Patrol Officer Was Traveling at 120 Mph Before Guilford County Car Accident that Killed 11-Year-Old Girl and Her Grandmother
A tragic Jamestown, North Carolina car accident that occurred during a police pursuit in Guilford County has claimed the life of 11-year-old Taylor Strange and her grandmother Sandra Allmond. The 55-year-old woman was turning left at a green light at an intersection just before noon on Sunday when a police car driven by North Carolina Highway Patrol Officer J.D. Goodnight struck her vehicle.
At the time, Goodnight was reportedly pursuing a Buick Skylark that was moving at a speed of 80 mph in a 55 mph zone. According to a preliminary accident report, the police officer was traveling at 120 mph before slowing to 95 mph when he struck Allmond’s vehicle. The impact of the collision split her vehicle in two. Two other children who were in the car were treated at a hospital before being released.
Goodnight reportedly had turned on his blue lights but it is not known for sure whether he had activated his siren. Witnesses say that they did not hear one. The report says that Allmond “failed to yield” and that Goodnight tried to avoid colliding with her vehicle.
The Attorney General’s Office is conducting an independent probe into the North Carolina car accident. There is no internal policy that establishes a maximum speed allowed during police chases and officers are supposed to use their judgment, based on their training, to determine what is safe.
It was just earlier this month that our Charlotte, North Carolina car accident lawyers posted a blog on recent findings, per ABC11, that North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers were involved in about seven car crashes a year in 2009. While it is important that police officers do their job when pursuing suspects, they must still obey the traffic laws and warn others when they are speeding, headed to an emergency situation, or involved in a police pursuit. They also must take precautionary measures to make sure that they don’t accidentally injure anyone on the way to their destination.
Trooper going 120 mph before crash, ABClocalgo.com, May 27, 2010
Read the trooper accident report (PDF)
Related Web Resources:
North Carolina Highway Patrol
State Highway Patrol Troopers Involved in Seven North Carolina Car Accidents a Week During 2009, North Carolina Car Accident Law Blog, May 19, 2010
