CAPRON

The Southampton County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday morning, released the names of the four individuals killed in the multi-vehicle collision that occurred on U.S. Route 58 (Southampton Parkway) last Thursday, Oct. 17.

The driver has been identified as Dee Jay Rodriguez, 19, of Hope Mills, North Carolina. The passengers have been identified as Eric Lee Peed, 24; Vincent Emar Ross, 19; and Keondre Thomas, 23, all of Fayatteville, North Carolina. The victims’ next of kin have been notified.

The accident had occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 58 between Popes Station Road and Bryants Church Road near Capron. According to Maj. Gene Drewery, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, the accident occurred when a passenger car rear-ended a stopped tractor trailer, resulting in the deaths of the driver and the three passengers in the car.

The tractor-trailer had reportedly been stopped in the left lane behind another tractor-trailer, which had been stopped for a school bus loading students at a regular stop. The school bus was not involved in the crash, Drewery said.

According to Drewery, the Sheriff’s Office’s investigation indicates that speed was the contributing factor to the accident.

The accident had resulted in the eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. 58 being closed between Popes Station Road and Bryants Church Road on Thursday from shortly after 11:30 a.m. to around 1:30 p.m.