Man accused of fatally hitting construction worker in I-40 work zone faces murder charge
A 20-year-old man accused of crashing into a construction work zone and fatally hitting a worker now faces a charge of second-degree murder, according to the Raleigh/Wake City-County Bureau of Identification.
Jeyson Alexander Murcia-Guillen, of Smithfield, was charged with felony death by vehicle May 3 after the 3 a.m. crash near Garner that killed Claude Julian “CJ” Tyler Bryant, The State Highway Patrol reported.
Murcia-Guillen was traveling east, driving a Chevrolet SUV, when he allegedly crashed into the work zone. He fled the scene on foot before being detained about an hour after the incident.
Bryant, 33, lived in Rocky Mount, had four children, and was engaged to Laura Moore, his online obituary read. He was an asphalt superintendent for S.T. Wooten Construction Co., where he had worked for six years.
He was pronounced dead at the site of the crash.
State troopers said speeding and alcohol contributed to the crash, according to CBS17, which reported the upgraded indictment this week.
A second-degree murder conviction in North Carolina can result in up to 16 years to life in prison.
In addition to felony death by vehicle, Murcia-Guillen was charged in May with felony hit and run causing injury/death, failure to move over causing injury/death, driving after consuming, no operator’s license, careless and reckless driving to danger, resisting a public officer, fictitious registration, operating a vehicle without insurance and failure to maintain lane control.
This story was originally published June 22, 2023 at 12:01 PM.