Woman charged with DWI, felonies after car hits two pedestrians in Raleigh

Published: October 24, 2012 

— Police say a 24-year-old woman had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit when she hit two pedestrians from behind on a Raleigh residential street Tuesday evening.

Suzanne Newell Speir of 4245-3 Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh was charged with two counts of felony serious injury by vehicle, a misdemeanor count of driving while impaired and failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision. Police say her Chevrolet hit a 51-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man on Huntingdon Drive near Powell Drive about 7 p.m.

In an arrest warrant charging Speir, police said William Wiley suffered four broken ribs, four broken vertebrae, a collapsed lung and broken leg. He was reported to be in fair condition at WakeMed Hospital in Raleigh on Wednesday.

Ruth Wiley had broken bones and cuts, police said in a second warrant, but was able to leave the hospital.

The police accident report says Speir had a blood alcohol concentration of .20. The legal limit for operating a motor vehicle in North Carolina is .08.

The Wileys, who live about two blocks from where they were hit, were walking west, with traffic, on Huntingdon in an area where there are no sidewalks. Speir’s car came up behind them at about 23 mph, according to the accident report. Police said they found no skid marks at the scene, and that Speir’s car went about 24 feet after it hit the Wileys.

Speir was freed on a $50,000 bond after her arrest.

Police also charged her with not having changed her car registration from Tennessee to North Carolina and with having no car insurance.

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