Two North Carolina girls killed in high-speed crash

If you drive northeast of Charlotte for a little less than three hours, you arrive in Person County. The rural area is a quieter, sadder place than it was two years ago. Two little Person County girls were killed in a car crash in June 2015 while they were on vacation with their family in Myrtle Beach.

“As a parent, you should never have to say goodbye to your child,” said the mother of the 11-year-old who died that day. The girl’s 9-year-old cousin was also killed. “When we left Myrtle Beach to go home, we should’ve been preparing them for school the next month. Instead, we had to go home and plan funerals.”

The Louisiana man charged in their deaths was recently sentenced to serve 15 years in prison.

Law enforcement officials said the man was driving a Mercedes he had purchased just three days earlier at high speeds on a highway. They said he was going 90 mph moments before the collision.

A witness said she was about to call police to report the speeding driver when the crash occurred.

The driver’s wife was in the car with him at the time of the crash. She told police that “it’s a fast car. He never drove that way until he got this car.”

The prosecutor told the court that the driver “is the type of person who needs to be incarcerated for an extended period of time.”

And so he will be.

While criminal punishment is welcomed by families in similar situations, many of them want to see the perpetrator punished financially as well. So they pursue a wrongful death claim that can bring not only peace of mind, but an extra measure of justice as well.

In Charlotte, you can discuss your situation with an attorney experienced in personal injury and wrongful death litigation by contacting Ayers, Whitlow & Dressler.