NC lawmaker hired a man with lengthy driving record. Then the man caused a serious injury.

After a legislator in North Carolina hired a man with a lengthy traffic record, the man seriously injured a 20-year-old while driving the legislator’s company car.

Wesley Meredith, a Republican state senator from Cumberland County, owns Cardinal Landscaping and serves as its president. The company offers commercial and residential landscaping services, as well as outdoor lighting and irrigation services, according to its website.

On Jan. 16, 2015, Cardinal employee Henry T. Harris was driving a company truck on N.C. 55 in western Wake County when he ran a red light and struck a Toyota driven by Christopher Coward.

The wreck crushed Coward’s car. He was taken to Duke Medical Center and “has suffered severe and permanent injuries,” according to a lawsuit he filed in 2015 against Cardinal Landscaping.

The suit, which was resolved in 2016, raises questions about Meredith’s judgment as he seeks a fifth term in the N.C. Senate. Meredith, the Republican majority whip, faces Democrat and former Fayetteville city councilman Kirk DeViere Senate District 19. The N&O looked into the lawsuit after receiving a tip.

As Democrats seek to break the Republican supermajority in the N.C. General Assembly, the NC Free Enterprise Foundation considers the race to be one of only a few competitive Senate races.

“My prayers and thoughts go out for all families involved. It is an unfortunate accident,” DeViere said in an email last week when asked about the lawsuit.

After this story was published online, N.C. Democratic Party spokesman Robert Howard emailed media outlets a harsh critique of Meredith.

“Wesley Meredith put countless people at risk by putting a dangerous individual with a checkered driving record behind the wheel of his own company’s car – and it ended up costing someone dearly,” Howard said. “That utter lack of judgement from a sitting state Senator is shocking and raises serious questions about his integrity and fitness for elected office.”

The lawsuit accuses Meredith of negligence, saying he knew or should’ve known that Harris was a driving risk. Meredith is listed on the company’s website as one of three managers. It’s unclear what Harris’ job title was when he was with the company.

At the time of the accident, Harris’ license was revoked. Prior to that, the lawsuit claims Harris was convicted of 24 traffic offenses between 1984 and 2005. His record includes four cases of driving while impaired, two cases of habitual driving while impaired and speeding.

“Defendant was involved in crash with injuries, showed signs of impairment, had strong odor of alcohol on breath, refused PBT (preliminary breathalyzer test), admitted to consumption of alcohol,” the police report reads.

For the 2015 accident, Harris was convicted of felony serious injury by vehicle and sentenced to a minimum of 14 months in prison. He was booked in on March 2, 2015, and remained in custody 625 days until November 17, 2016, according to the Wake County District Attorney’s office.

“It’s the worst driving record I’ve seen in my entire career. Harris never should’ve been entrusted even with a lawnmower,” said Stacy Miller, Coward’s attorney.

The N&O could not reach Meredith despite attempts to reach him by phone, email and through the Republican Party. The N&O first emailed Meredith on Oct. 8. Through Miller, Coward declined to comment.

Cardinal and Coward reached a confidential resolution in the case in 2016, Miller said.

Attempts to reach Harris were unsuccessful. The N&O called a number listed to Harris, but it was disconnected. The N&O also called and emailed David O. Lewis of Durham, who is listed in the lawsuit as the attorney for Harris and Cardinal Landscaping.

In court, Coward’s attorneys said Harris’ driving record “conclusively demonstrates a pattern of conscious disregard for the law and the safety of other individuals” but that Cardinal allowed Harris to use the vehicle he struck Coward with.

“Defendant Cardinal knew of or should have known that Defendant Harris had a driving history that had clearly demonstrated that Defendant Harris was a dangerous driver,” Coward’s attorneys stated in the lawsuit. “Despite Defendant Harris’ driver’s license being suspended at the time of the above mentioned accident, Defendant Cardinal allowed Defendant Harris to drive a company vehicle owned by Defendant Cardinal.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 4:30 PM.