Trooper found negligent in ’03 fatal crash
The Cherokee Scout
Trooper found negligent in ’03 fatal crash
N.C. Highway Patrol has 15 days to appeal decision; trooper still on duty By CINDI HERR
cherr@cherokeescout.com Tuesday, August 21, 2007 8:04 PM CDT
Boring Holloway
Raleigh – The families of two women killed in a violent automobile crash involving a state trooper assisting in a car chase in July 2003 are finally getting some closure.
The N.C. Industrial Commission ruled Aug. 13 that Trooper Jeremy Ledford of the N.C. Highway Patrol was “grossly negligent” in the deaths of sisters Blanche Boring and Lois Holloway of Andrews.
As a result, the Highway Patrol will be responsible for paying $125,000 to each woman’s estate, and an additional $8,000 to Boring’s family for her car.
Both women died when the vehicle Boring was driving was struck on the front passenger side by a patrol vehicle Ledford was driving on U.S. 19/74 at the entrance of the sanitary landfill in Marble.
Ledford exceeded speeds of 80 mph while pursuing a man fleeing from the law, and attempted to avoid Boring’s car at the last minute, according to a report published in the July 23, 2003, edition of the Cherokee Scout. His patrol car skidded off the right side of the road, where it hit a guardrail, flipped and caught fire. Ledford sustained head injuries, multiple broken bones and burns.
The incident has been under investigation since 2003. It was most recently brought before the Industrial Commission, a division of the N.C. Department of Commerce that handles worker’s compensation claims and tort hearings.
“[The deputy industrial commissioner] found the Highway Patrol, through the trooper, is liable to each estate for the ladies. The trooper was found grossly negligent ... which is more than mere negligence ... in regards to the operation of his vehicle, especially the part where he did not try to slow down at all. He was doing over 100 mph and didn’t hit his brakes,” said Wayland Cooke, attorney for Charles Roper Holloway, on behalf of the estates of Boring and Holloway.
The Highway Patrol has 15-30 days to either appeal the commission’s ruling or decide to pay the fine.
Noelle Talley, public information officer for the N.C. Department of Justice, said the case, a tort claims matter, will be appealed to the full commission.
“We were aware of the decision. The decision is under review by the attorney general’s office,” said Lt. Everett Clendenin, spokesman for the Highway Patrol. “[Ledford] is still in active duty. It was not a criminal matter, and he is not going to be charged with any wrongdoing.”
Joe Dugdale of the Highway Patrol’s legal affairs office said the decision will not affect Ledford’s employment.
An official at the Bryson City office said Ledford was on patrol Monday.
Ledford’s attorney, Wyatt Stevens of the firm Roberts and Stevens of Asheville, could not be reached for comment by press time Tuesday.
