Two people, including a five-year-old, have been killed, while four others have been critically injured in an accident involving an intoxicated car driver and a golf cart near Statesville, North Carolina, according to a statement released by NC State Highway Patrol.
Multiple emergency crews responded to the crash that happened on Monday at approximately 9.40pm, when a 2009 Honda Accord travelling west on Fort Dobbs Road near Dobbs Drive, north of Statesville, crossed the road and collided head-on with the cart, which was travelling east. The area is approximately 45 miles north of Charlotte.
The driver of the cart, 39-year-old Michael Shane Marlowe, died at the scene along with five-year-old passenger Bentley Marlowe. Four passengers on the cart, aged 2, 13, 16, and 26, suffered critical injuries and were transported by helicopters to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem and Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
The driver of the Honda, 23-year-old Austin Ray Harmon of Statesville, was not injured. He was arrested and charged with driving while impaired, two counts of felony death by vehicle, and three counts of felony serious injury by vehicle. Harmon appeared in court the day after the incident and was held on a $250,000 bond. He will return to court on 5 July.
Master Trooper Jeffrey Swagger said: “Golf carts are a fun recreational activity for folks to get out and go for a ride, but when that mixes with a collision with a vehicle the end is often tragic.”
Two GoFundMe pages have been set up to raise funds for the family of the victims. The pages can be reached here or here.
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