2 Wrecks Leave At Least 1 Dead in Durham

Police haven't said whether the accidents were related or caused by a chase.

The accidents happened shortly before 11:30 p.m. at the Cookout restaurant, 1540 S. Miami Blvd., and the Steel Blue nightclub, 1426-A S. Miami Blvd.

Brittany Marshall, 19, was heading west on U.S. 70 when she attempted to turn left into a parking lot, and a pickup truck driven by John Henry Goodfellow, 50, struck the passenger side of her car, according to the state Highway Patrol.

A passenger in the back seat of Marshall's car, Laresha Hart, was killed.

Whitly Grant, the front-seat passenger in Marshall's car, was seriously injured. The other back-seat passenger, Makeema Monique Pettaway, was ejected from the car, authorities said.

Initial reports said a pedestrian was pinned against a fence in the wreck. Authorities said Pettaway ended up near a fence but wasn't pinned there.

Goodfellow was charged with driving while impaired. His blood-alcohol content was 0.13, authorities said.

Charges are pending against Marshall.

Marshall and her three passengers are North Carolina Central University students, authorities said.

Michael Marks, who lives next to Steel Blue, said he knew a wreck had occurred when he heard a long bang.

"It was chaotic. It was over 15 squad cars, ambulances, fire trucks – just total chaos," Marks said. "Being so close to where I'm living, thank God nothing happened here."

One car was also involved in the accident at Cookout. That scene was cleared by around 12:45 a.m., but trees and power lines were still down around the restaurant.