Accident claims life

Published 9:43 am Wednesday, June 26, 2019

AHOSKIE – An Edgecombe County woman lost her life near here Saturday night as a pedestrian on NC 561.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol identified the victim as 52-year-old Shirley Marie Dew of Tarboro.

In his report, NCHP Trooper H.M. Mizelle noted that Dew was originally a passenger in a vehicle driven by her son. That vehicle was eastbound on NC 561, less than two-tenths of one mile from the NC 11 intersection, at which time it stopped and Dew exited.

Moments later, a 2006 Ford passenger car driven by Columbus Motley Jr. of Powellsville, traveling east on NC 561, struck Dew as she was standing in the roadway. Following that impact, Dew was tossed into the westbound lane where she was struck again, this time by a 1994 Chevrolet passenger car driven by Michael Vick of Rich Square.

Dew died at the scene.

Sgt. C.L. Herring of the NCHP’s office in Ahoskie said the victim’s son told Trooper Mizelle that he and his mother had a disagreement and she asked him to stop the vehicle and let her out.

“Her son said she exited the vehicle on the passenger side, which would have placed her along the shoulder of the road, but when she was struck the first time she was in the middle of the road,” Sgt. Herring said. “He also told us this wasn’t the first time she had requested to be let out of a vehicle as it was en route to a destination.”

Herring added that Dew was wearing dark colored clothing, which would have hampered a driver from seeing her, especially at night. The accident occurred shortly before 9 p.m.

The NCHP Sergeant went on to say that his office is waiting for a toxicology report from the Medical Examiner’s office to judge whether or not Dew was intoxicated.

No charges have been filed.

The fatality was the sixth of 2019 in the NCHP’s Troop A / District 2 area (Bertie, Gates, Hertford counties). Two of those fatalities have been in Hertford County.

About Cal Bryant

Cal Bryant, a 40-year veteran of the newspaper industry, serves as the Editor at Roanoke-Chowan Publications, publishers of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald, Gates County Index, and Front Porch Living magazine.

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