Head-on crash kills Campbell professor

Lewis Fetterman's wife hurt, other driver killed

A close-knit university community on Sunday mourned the death of a professor in a Sampson County car wreck that also injured his wife and killed another driver.

University officials remembered Lewis M. Fetterman Jr., a professor at Campbell University's School of Pharmacy, as a dedicated colleague with high expectations of his students.

"I know the students were challenged by him," said Tom Holmes, associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Pharmacy. "He was considered a demanding, but fair, professor. He did a great job, and this is a terrible loss for us, losing him as a person, and his expertise."

Fetterman's family have been benefactors of Campbell, where he taught for about eight years, colleagues said.

"He was very personable, very caring," said Emanuel Diliberto, chair of the pharmaceutical sciences department. "He was intimately involved with the students and making sure they were appropriately prepared."

The accident happened about 8 p.m. Saturday, the State Highway Patrol said. Fetterman and his wife, Joni-Fay Fetterman, were traveling south on U.S. 701 near Newton Grove in their 2002 Chrysler minivan when a Ford Taurus driven by Alejandro Rivas crossed the centerline and struck the Fettermans' car nearly head-on, said Sgt. Joel Siles.

Rivas, 47, of 264 Preston Lane, Newton Grove, also was killed, Siles said. Troopers suspect Rivas had been drinking, he added.

"About a half-second before the collision occurred ... it appeared that Mr. Fetterman had tried to veer to the right to avoid a collision," Siles said. "That probably saved his wife's life, because he turned away from the impact."

Joni-Fay Fetterman was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the trooper said. She is a member of the Meredith College Alumni Association board of directors and is a 1978 graduate of the Raleigh school, according to the school's Web site.

The Fettermans' daughter, Charlotte, is a student in the pharmacy program, Holmes said. Fetterman and his wife also have a son.

A woman who answered the phone at Fetterman's residence referred questions to officials at the Harnett County school, with its main campus at Buies Creek.

"There's going to be a real sense of loss tomorrow," as classes resume, Holmes said. "We're pretty close family down here in Buies Creek."

The Lundy-Fetterman School of Business at Campbell is named after Fetterman's mother, Annabelle Lundy Fetterman.

In 1987, Annabelle Lundy Fetterman took over as chairwoman and CEO of the family meat-processing company, Clinton-based Lundy Packing Co. In 2000, the firm was bought by Premium Standard Farms, according to online information from the N.C. Business Hall of Fame.