By By JONATHAN CLAYBORNE
Staff Writer
The driver of the vehicle involved in a fatal wreck was charged Monday with three counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle.
Harry Truman Moore Jr., 37, of Washington was treated and released from an area hospital following the single-car crash Monday morning on Cherry Run Road northwest of Washington, said 1st Sgt. Kenneth Pitts with the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Moore was arrested following his release from the hospital, Pitts said. Moore’s bail was set at $300,000, Pitts said.
As of Tuesday, Moore was being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center, according to Pitts.
About the charges, District Attorney Seth Edwards said, “That will be reviewed and other charges could be forthcoming.”
Investigators had not been able to question Moore in detail as of early Tuesday afternoon, Pitts said.
“We’ve had a brief conversation with him,” he said.
According to Pitts, those killed in the accident were: Earl Depredeon Windley, 21, of Washington; RaKima Laqueta McCall, 18, of Chocowinity; and Angela Dawn Carter, 21, of Washington.
The surviving victim, James Daniel Avery, 26, of Cherry Run Road, was listed in serious condition, said Pitts, citing the most current information he had.
Edwards said Moore had been charged with driving while impaired in a separate matter dating to Dec. 22.
His court date on that charge was set for March 2, 2010, Edwards related.
Moore had a valid driver’s license, Pitts said.
Other unrelated charges pending against Moore concerned identity theft, obtaining property by false pretenses and possession of a firearm by a felon, Edwards said.
No additional information regarding those charges could immediately be obtained.
The Highway Patrol received a call about the wreck at 11:15 a.m. Monday, Trooper Kevin Respass said at the scene.
Respass said the car, a 2009 Ford Mustang, had veered off the road about 200 to 300 feet before a bridge that crosses a creek. The car felled some trees before crashing into the water, he said.
At the scene were multiple rescue and law-enforcement agencies, including the Sidney Dive Team, which handled recovery operations.
Shortly after rescue personnel arrived, men among their ranks extended a ladder over the railing of the bridge in order to reach the nearly submerged car.
“The only thing you could see on the car was the rooftop,” Respass said Monday.
The rescuers were seen removing two people from the car, passing them up the ladder so they could be stabilized and airlifted to Pitt County Memorial Hospital.
The Highway Patrol investigated the accident, while the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office offered assistance.
Dozens of local volunteer firefighters, with city emergency-response personnel, could be seen helping with everything from the rescue of the two survivors to traffic control.
An approximately half-mile section of Cherry Run Road was closed to all but local traffic until the scene was cleared, and the bridge over the creek into which the car plunged was closed to all but emergency vehicles.
Of the accident scene, Pitts said, “It was a little bit different because you had five people in one car, and then you’ve got three people that died out of the five. Certainly, the other two that were in the car could have easily died had they not been found very quickly — probably could have easily died because of hypothermia because of the cold water.”
All of the victims were fairly young, Pitts noted.
“I think that impacts a community when you’ve got at least three different families that are impacted because of a triple fatality,” he said. “It does impact an entire community.”
Many lives were touched by the wreck, he said, adding that he saw that impact firsthand when he was notifying victims’ families of the deaths.