Woman's death, man's drinking probed

RALEIGH -- A vibrant young woman ends up facedown in the street fatally injured and the man she lived with is charged with drunken driving after what police say appears to be a domestic disagreement between the two.

It was just after 9:35 p.m. Tuesday when a group of motorists found Tempie Kitchin Kerr, 34, lying critically injured on St. Mary's Street, just west of downtown.

One of the motorists who stopped to help Kerr told an emergency dispatcher that moments before a car had sped past him.

"It was flying," the unidentified caller told the 911 dispatcher.

Raleigh police Lt. Andy Murr said investigators have not ruled out foul play, but both Kerr and her boyfriend, Chadwick Ryan Whichard, 36, had been drinking. Investigators will attempt to reconstruct the accident to confirm Whichard's story, he said.

Whichard told police that they had argued and that Kerr got out of the vehicle before he could come to a complete stop. He said that he made a U-turn as soon as possible but that other motorists had already arrived on the scene.

Kerr and Whichard lived together at 2514 Glenwood Ave., not far from where Kerr was injured. The house is owned by Whichard, according to county property records.

The 911 caller told the emergency dispatcher that Kerr was barely breathing when they found her; she lost consciousness before help arrived.

Emergency workers rushed Kerr to WakeMed in Raleigh on Tuesday night.

She died there at 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Police charged Whichard with drunken driving shortly after beginning their investigation Tuesday night, according to arrest records filed with the City County Bureau of Identification.

Other records filed Tuesday night at the CCBI indicated that Whichard is a real estate investor.

The Raleigh man's DWI arrest is his second over the past seven years. He was convicted of DWI in 2003 in Wake County, state records show.

News researcher Peggy Neal contributed to this report.