Five people have died on Sampson County highways in the last seven days, all victims of traffic accidents, including the most recent, that of a 17-year-old Spring Lake teen who died from injuries he sustained in a one-vehicle crash on I-40 Friday afternoon.
According to the N.C. Highway Patrol, Christian Castro, 17, of Spring Lake, died after being transported to ECU Medical Health Center on May 15.
Three others were injured.
Castro, along with Jonathan Mcgee, also 17, of Fuquay-Varina, were backseat passengers in a 2007 Toyota Yaris, being driven by Brian Hugo Arana, 19, of 88 South Park St., Angier. The front seat passenger was Alex Francisco Cueller Castro, 20, with no known address.
Reports show the accident happened just after 5 p.m. Friday as Arana’s Toyota was traveling east on I-40 near mile-marker 358.
The vehicle’s back, right tire, patrol reports indicate, failed, or separated, forcing the vehicle to travel out of control, running off the road to the left and striking a cable guardrail. After impact, the Toyota began to roll, entering the westbound lane of I-40, where it came to rest facing west.
Both Christian Castro and Mcgee were thrown from the vehicle. The front-seat victims were restrained, reports show.
Mcgee was taken to Novant Health Hospital in Wilmington for treatment of his injuries; Arana was taken to ECU Medical Health Center and Alex Castro was transported to WakeMed in Raleigh. No condition updates were available on them at press time.
Patrol First Sgt. D.K. Pearson said that it was unusual to have five fatalities on Sampson County roadways in one week.
“They usually happen in spurts, though,” he acknowledged.
This is the 12th death on Sampson County roadways since January, and the seventh to have occurred within 30 days.