Crash inquiry to bring officials to Mt. Pleasant

PEMBROKE, N.C. — Police and the N.C. Highway Patrol still are trying to determine what caused an accident that killed two people on motorcycles last week.

Julie Miller, 40, of Mount Pleasant, was traveling more than 100 mph June 12 when her car jumped a railroad track and slammed into two motorcycles on West Third Street, police said.

She never hit the brakes on her car, according to police.

Miller lost control and veered into the left lane as the motorcycles prepared to turn into a gas station, Pembroke Police Chief Dwayne Hunt said.

Two people were killed and a third was injured. The accident happened about 11:45 p.m.

Police and members of the Highway Patrol spent Wednesday afternoon re- constructing the accident.

Investigators plan to go to Mount Pleasant Monday to talk with Miller's friends and family.

Miller is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Authorities said they hope their trip to Mount Pleasant will answer why Miller was in Robeson County that day and what might have led to the accident.

"We are going Monday to talk to people just to see who this woman is and whether anyone knows anything about why she was in the Pembroke area,'' Hunt said.

Hunt said investigators have not talked to Miller since the crash. She is in the Robeson County jail with bail set at $1.25 million.

"Our biggest thing now is putting together the pieces to understand what exactly happened and talk to family members,'' he said.

Miller told police she has no recollection of the crash, Hunt said.

In an affidavit, Pembroke detective Sebastian Veneziano said Miller appeared to be confused when he spoke with her at Southeastern Regional Medical Center the night of the accident.

Miller wasn't sure what day of the week it was, Veneziano said, and she was confused about where she had been before the collision. She said "things got blurry, hazy and misting," court records stated.

Authorities found three prescription drugs in her purse — Meprozine and two bottles of amphetamine salts, court records stated. The amphetamine salts prescriptions were in two names.

Meprozine is a moderate pain reliever. Amphetamines are known to produce increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite. It also is used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Miller's blood sample was sent to the State Bureau of Investigation lab. It will be tested to determine whether there were any narcotics that may have impaired Miller, according to court records.

The crash killed Virginia C. Locklear of Lumberton, N.C., a passenger on the first motorcycle hit, and Marie D. Locklear of Pembroke, who was alone on the second bike.

Fredrick Locklear, the driver of the first bike, was flown to Duke University Medical Center. He has since been released, Hunt said.