Local News

95-year-old driver charged in fatal crash at Smithfield Walmart

Police on Tuesday charged a 95-year-old driver in connection with a recent crash outside a Walmart in Smithfield that killed one woman and injured two others.
Posted 2011-10-11T21:12:52+00:00 - Updated 2011-10-12T21:28:43+00:00
Benjamin Moye

Police on Tuesday charged a 95-year-old driver in connection with a recent crash outside a Walmart in Smithfield that killed one woman and injured two others.

Benjamin Moye, of Newport News, Va., was charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle. He was released and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 8.

Moye, who was staying at his nephew's home in Clayton, went to the Walmart, on North Brightleaf Boulevard, on Oct. 1 for some milk. He said he was looking for a parking space when he hit the three women in the crosswalk.

"My foot must have slipped off the brake," he told WRAL News two days later.

Lois Shannon, 73, Debra Holmes, 53, and Jeanna Hawley, 35, all of Smithfield, were taken to Johnston County Memorial Hospital, where Shannon later died.

Moye, who wasn't injured, said in an interview that he had repeated flashbacks of the crash and had difficulty sleeping. Still, he said he had never hit anything in 80 years behind the wheel and didn't think he should be charged.

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