Search warrants provide new details in Cary crash that killed teen, injured another
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Investigators found the backseat seatbelts appeared unused in a fatal Dec. 5 Cary crash.
- The driver is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle and cited for failing to yield.
- Lena Goff, a 15-year-old sophomore at Green Hope High School, died in the crash.
A month after a Cary teenager was killed in a car crash, newly released court documents indicate several of the teens involved may not have been wearing seatbelts.
Lena Goff, 15, died in the Dec. 5 wreck at the intersection of Louis Stephens Drive and Morrisville Parkway, The News & Observer previously reported. Goff, a sophomore at nearby Green Hope High School, had apparently left a wrestling competition at the school to grab food with friends, according to a search warrant.
A 14-year-old was also seriously injured in the crash, according to a Gofundme organized by a family friend. Both girls were member of the high school’s girls’ wrestling team.
What police say happened
The crash occurred when a 2001 Honda Civic was struck by a 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee as the sedan was turning left from the eastbound direction of Morrisville Parkway, the warrant states. The four-way intersection had working traffic lights, but the road was wet from rain throughout the day.
The 17-year-old driver of the Civic allegedly failed to properly yield to the SUV, causing the crash, court documents show. The N&O is not naming the teenager because she is a minor and is not facing any felony charges.
Investigators discovered the seatbelts in the backseat of the Civic didn’t appear to have been in use at the time of the crash, according to search warrants. In an interview with one of the car’s passengers, the teen told officers they weren’t wearing a seatbelt, the warrants state.
Teenage driver charged
The teenage driver faces a charge of misdemeanor death by vehicle and a citation for failure to yield while making a left turn, according to court records. She reportedly admitted to not seeing the SUV before making the turn, search warrants state.
She also could face a citation for violating the terms of her license, which did not allow her to have more than one passenger who wasn’t a member of her household. At least three other teens were in the car at the time of the crash, search warrants show.
The driver of the Jeep said he was on his way to deliver food at the time of the crash when he saw the Civic “suddenly in front of [him].” He told police “the roads were slippery, that he could not step, and that he may have sped up a little prior to the collision upon the cycling of the traffic control device to yellow,” according to search warrants.
That driver had not been charged or cited in the crash as of Friday morning.
