Two teenagers from Durham County died and two others were seriously injured in a two-vehicle wreck in Carteret County on Saturday night.
The state Highway Patrol said Miles Moorman of 404 Mare Ct., Bahama, and Brantley Scott Pearce of 3107 E. Geer St., Durham, died in the wreck at the intersection of Straits and Harkers Island roads. Both were 18.
Trooper Gene Johnson said at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Moorman turned his 1999 Honda Accord into the path of a 1998 Chevy SUV that was towing a roughly 18-foot-long boat.
Two 17-year-old girls in the back seat of the Honda, Kristen Michelle Terry and Kimberly Ann Frey, suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital. They are also from Durham, Johnson said.
Christopher Yeomans, 45, principal of the Smyrna Elementary School in Carteret County, drove the SUV. He and his daughter, Caroline, 14, were treated and released from Carteret General Hospital. Yeomans' wife, Kathy, 49, suffered two broken legs and was also transported to Pitt Memorial. Also injured in the SUV was Jaden Fulcher, 14, of Stacy, who was admitted to Carteret with non life-threatening injuries, Johnson said.
The forked intersection where the crash occurred is a tricky one, said Johnson and Otway Fire Chief Chris Brock. Motorists driving south on Harkers Island Road and looking to turn onto Straits don't have to slow down to make the turn in the 55 mile-an-hour zone, but they can misjudge how fast traffic is coming from the other direction.
Johnson said that's what happened Saturday night.
"It was just a split-second wrong decision," Johnson said.
Brock said he's seen several accidents at the intersection in his eight years as chief, but this was the first one with fatalities. Johnson said he saw no indication of alcohol or excessive speed.
Yeomans and his family had spent the day boating before the crash, while the Durham teenagers may have been visiting Pearce's father, who has a beach house in nearby Gloucester, Johnson said.
