'Made you laugh:' Friends remember 19-year-old killed in Johnston County crash

Highway Patrol troopers said Jada Billups, 19 was on N.C. Highway 42 when the Pontiac she was in was T-boned by a Jeep traveling on Creech Church Road at about 10 p.m. According to troopers, the Jeep ran a stop sign.

Lamarr O'Neal was arrested and charged with death by motor vehicle. Troopers said he blamed his headlights going out, or having an issue to where he couldn’t see the stop sign.

Billups, 19, was ejected from the Pontiac and pronounced dead at the scene. Photos taken at the scene show the Pontiac was thrown several feet from the road following the crash.

On Wednesday, friends were remembering Billups as a funny girl who loved to play basketball during her time at Smithfield-Selma Senior High School.

"She was a very intelligent girl. She showed me a couple of moves, how to play basketball," friend Jaquavis Jackson said. "She was very funny. Made you laugh instantly."

Tuesday night was not the first time tragedy marred the rural crossroads where Billups lost her life.

A cross and flowers stand among pine needles in memory of a man killed in a 2009 crash. Despite the forest and farm scenery, locals say Highway 42 is littered with dangers.

At Brewer's Grill, the crash came as no surprise to 86-year-old Thel Brady, who remembers the highway as a quiet two-lane road before growth in the area brought more traffic.

"Especially at these intersections, and many people fail to observe the stop signs. They fail to slow up and with the cellphone stuck to their ear," he said.

Authorities said the person driving the Pontiac was taken to WakeMed in serious condition, but is expected to recover.