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| One week after graduating from Patrick County High School |
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Monday, June 15, 2009
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
A recent Patrick County High School graduate was killed Saturday in an accident on Interstate 95 near Benson, N.C., according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol.
Jesse Wood Sheppard, 18, of 825 Salem Highway, Stuart, died after he was thrown from the back seat of a 1998 Lincoln around 5:45 p.m., according to a report provided by highway patrol Sgt. J.L. Gaskins.
E.G. Bradshaw, principal of Patrick County High School, described Sheppard, who graduated June 6, as “a model student.”
“He was very involved” in school activities, Bradshaw said. “He was a member of our marching band and was a favorite in drama productions.”
Talented musically, Sheppard “could play just about anything,” and he was “very active” with the school’s praise and worship team, Bradshaw said.
“From a high school principal’s perspective, he was just a model student and one we’re very proud of,” he added.
Bradshaw said it was his understanding that Sheppard was returning home from a trip when the accident occurred.
According to the report, the Lincoln was traveling north in the right lane of I-95 near Benson, which is about 30 miles south of Raleigh, when its driver attempted to change lanes and sideswiped another vehicle. That vehicle, a 2001 Mitsubishi, ran off the road to the left and came to a stop, the report said.
The Lincoln ran off the road to the right, struck a roadside “No Parking” sign and flipped several times before landing on its tires, the report said. It traveled through a hedgerow before coming to rest, the report adds.
Sheppard was not wearing a seat belt, the report said.
The Lincoln’s driver, Jonathan Robert Corns, 19, of 2867 Abram Penn Highway, Critz, was charged with unsafe lane change and misdemeanor death by vehicle, the report said.
According to an online copy of North Carolina statutes, a person can be charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle if he or she unintentionally causes the death of another person while violating a traffic law other than impaired driving.
A third teenager from Patrick County, Christopher Bryce Howell, 19, of 4734 Moorefield Store Road, also was riding in the car. Information about whether he was injured was not available Sunday night.
The Mitsubishi was driven by Diane Tracey Arthur, 56, of Dunn, N.C., the report said. Damage to her vehicle was estimated at $1,000.
Damage to the Lincoln, which is owned by James Eric Sheppard of 825 Salem Highway, Stuart, was estimated at $15,000.
Bradshaw said any students who would like help seeking counseling may call the high school at 694-7137 or Piedmont Community Services at 694-4361. |
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