Firefighters and N.C. Highway Patrol troopers work the scene of a Tuesday morning fatality that claimed the lives of two people.
Courtesy photo
The last 48 hours have proved deadly on Sampson County roadways, with two more people killed in an early morning accident Tuesday, bringing this year’s death toll to four within the first eight days of 2025.
Tuesday’s fatal accident claimed the lives of Eric Scott Little, 30, of 1686 Brick Mill Road, Coats, and Lauren Brittany Knuckles, 31, of 673 Pecan Road, Dudley.
The head-on collision occurred just after 7 a.m. Tuesday on N.C. 55 near Oak Grove Church Road, 2.7 miles west of Newton Grove.
N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper S.K. Naylor’s report showed that Little, driving a black 2017 Honda Accord, was traveling east on N.C. 55 when he crossed the center line and collided head-on with Knuckles’ vehicle, traveling in the westbound lane.
Both drivers, reports note, died at the scene. Little was not wearing a safety belt, but Knuckles, the trooper’s report shows, was restrained.
Passengers in both vehicles were injured.
Ashley Morgan Walker, 30, of 187 Deanne Lane, Coats, was a passenger in Little’s vehicle. She was transported to Wake Med with serious injuries. Walker was also not belted, reports noted.
Three-year-old Maddison Faith Knuckles, of 673 Pecan Road, Dudley, was also injured in the accident. A passenger in Knuckles’ car, the child was restrained in an appropriate car seat. She was transported via helicopter to Wake Med.
Tuesday’s accident is the second fatality this week.
Sunday night, around 10 p.m., two men were killed in a single-vehicle accident on Reedsford Road, just outside of Clinton. According to Patrol reports, Angel Moises Bonilla Garcia, 22, of 90 Jean Lane, Clinton, and Daniel Vasquez Gonzales, 17, of 782 McLamb Road, Dunn died. Speed and reckless driving were noted as contributing factors in the accident.
Tuesday’s accident brings to four the number of fatalities in 2025. In 2024, Sampson saw 21 vehicle deaths on county roadways.