Teen Responsible for Fatal Crash Was Unlicensed

Apex, N.C. — In a split second, 16-year-old Arturo Arguijo's decision on an Apex highway changed his life and that of another family.

Apex Police said Arguijo was driving his parents' pickup truck with four other passengers. He was turning onto U.S. Highway 64 late Wednesday morning when he collided with a vehicle carrying Salud Avellaneda-Marin, 41, of Asheboro, and her two sons.

Avellaneda-Marin died at WakeMed; her 20-year-old and infant sons were injured, but they were expected to recover.

Arguijo faces charges of misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and driving without a license. He is in the Wake County Jail under a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court in August.

Even if the teen had a license, investigators said he would have been violating the state's graduated license program by having too many passengers in his vehicle.

“I can’t believe things like this happen,” Valentin Avellaneda-Marin, the victim's brother, said Thursday.

He said his sister was in the process of becoming an American citizen and was returning to Asheboro after a visit to the Mexican Embassy in Raleigh.

"She was pretty excited about this stuff," Avellaneda-Marin said. "She was, you know, making plans."

North Carolina lawmakers are working on toughening penalties for people who violate the rules of the road.

One bill in particular would give officers the right to take someone's picture when they're pulled over for a traffic violation. The picture would help nab anyone trying to conceal their ID.