SAMPSON COUNTY, North Carolina — A wrong-way driver on Interstate 40 was involved in a head-on collision on Saturday night, November 14, that left one woman dead and two other people seriously injured, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the Sampson Independent reported.
Source: Sampson Independent
The crash occurred around 10:46 p.m. on Saturday near mile marker 343 on I-40, in Sampson County near Newton Grove. A second report on the Highway Patrol's account placed the scene near Exit 343 for U.S. 701.
A wrong-way report, then a collision 12 minutes later
According to the Highway Patrol, Trooper M.E. Millen was dispatched around 10:34 p.m. after authorities received reports of a minivan traveling west in the eastbound lanes of the interstate. Approximately 12 minutes later, authorities were notified that the vehicle had been involved in a head-on collision, the Sampson Independent reported.
Investigators said Brian Skilton, 44, of Raleigh, was driving a 2019 Honda minivan in the wrong direction when he collided with an SUV traveling east on I-40. The SUV was driven by Ashly Miles, 25, of Leland. A second report on the Highway Patrol's account identified the SUV as a 2017 Nissan and said the passenger who died was in the front passenger seat.
Who died, and who was taken to hospital
Ashly Miles's passenger, Donna Miles, 66, also of Leland, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Highway Patrol. Both Skilton and Ashly Miles were airlifted to WakeMed in Raleigh for treatment. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Highway Patrol officials said all three individuals involved in the crash were wearing seat belts at the time of the collision. This is a death and tragedy report: no image of the crash itself is published with this story, and the illustration above does not depict the incident.
What investigators say — and what is only suspected
Investigators do not believe speed contributed to the crash, the Highway Patrol said. Authorities suspect Skilton may have been impaired at the time of the collision; impairment is not suspected in Ashly Miles. That impairment point is a suspicion stated by investigators, not a proven finding, and no charge had been announced in the reports reviewed. Charges are pending as the investigation continues, according to the Highway Patrol.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says charges are pending while its investigation continues. Investigators say speed is not believed to have contributed, and they suspect — but have not proven — that the wrong-way driver may have been impaired.
Why this stretch of I-40 matters
Interstate 40 is one of North Carolina's main east-west highways, carrying traffic between the Raleigh area and the coast through Sampson County, and it is a working freight corridor as well as a commuter route. A late-night wrong-way entry puts every driver on that stretch — including truck drivers running overnight schedules, among them many Punjabi diaspora drivers who work U.S. freight routes — in immediate danger, because closing speeds in a head-on crash leave almost no time to react. That is why the 12 minutes between the first wrong-way report at 10:34 p.m. and the collision at 10:46 p.m. is the central timeline investigators will document.
What happens next
The Highway Patrol's investigation is continuing, and charges are pending, so the next confirmed facts are expected to be the conditions of the two drivers airlifted to WakeMed in Raleigh, any charges filed against the wrong-way driver, and the patrol's findings on how the minivan came to be traveling west in the eastbound lanes. Until those findings are released, the impairment question remains an allegation under investigation, not a conclusion.