Teen who studied crashes is killed in one

An 18-year-old woman who had studied Johnston County's extraordinary number of teenage highway deaths as her senior high school project was killed Saturday night in a head-on collision just blocks from her home.

Shannon Nicole Adkins was the 27th Johnston teen to die in a crash since the beginning of 2006 and the second in just over a week. Her death came five days before Johnston leaders were to put on a forum featuring law enforcement officials, the district attorney and safety experts working to identify ways to fight the problem.

Adkins was driving on Buffalo Road north of N.C. 42 in her Toyota pickup when another Clayton woman, driving a full-size Ford pickup in the opposite direction, crossed almost completely into Adkins' lane and struck her head-on, N.C. Highway Patrol trooper C.T. Oravits said.

Adkins' truck flipped and came to rest upside down atop a wood fence. She was pinned inside, said Oravits, who investigated the accident. The other driver, Desiree Olsen, 29, was thrown from her truck, which rolled at least once and came to rest upright in the road, Oravits said.

Adkins' parents heard the crash and came to the scene, where they learned that their daughter had been killed.

"She was a wonderful, sweet child who meant the world to so many people," her aunt, Karmela Adkins, said on Sunday. "It's just not fair that she's not here."

Olsen was charged with driving while impaired, and Oravits said that he anticipated further charges. Olsen told EMS workers that she had been drinking, and a blood test at Wake Med showed she was intoxicated, Oravits said.

She was listed in fair condition at the hospital Sunday night.

The teen road deaths have become a focal point for school and county leaders. Smithfield started a defensive driving program aimed at teens, and the school system is considering improvements to driver education classes.

Also, county leaders are putting on the forum at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Johnston County Agricultural Center on N.C. 210 in Smithfield. The event will include the school superintendent and district attorney as well as representatives from the state Highway Patrol, the state Transportation Department and others.

County Commissioner Tony Braswell, who is organizing the forum, said the idea is to get as much information about teen accidents in the county as possible, then brainstorm ways to tackle the problem.

Generally, teens crash more often in rural areas such as Johnston, which have many narrow secondary roads with higher speed limits and poorer lighting than on urban roads. These factors make the roads particularly dangerous for inexperienced drivers.

"If it's the roads, let's do something about the roads; if it's driving habits that needs to be improved, let's look at that," Braswell said. "Whatever it is, we need to put it all on the table and talk about it."

'All been taken away'

Adkins graduated last spring from Clayton High School after completing her project on the teen deaths. Karmela Adkins said the project had changed her niece's life. As part of the research, she had ridden with local law enforcement officers. Shannon become so enthusiastic that she changed her major at Wayne Community College before she even started, shifting from dental hygiene to criminal justice.

"She had so many goals and dreams," Adkins said. "Now that's all been taken away."