Rockingham, NC : Bennettsville woman killed in car accident, north of Battley Dairy Road near East Rockingham on Friday evening, April 22, 2016

State troopers say a 28-year-old woman was killed when her car ran off the road and struck a tree Friday evening.

Jennifer Cassandra Hill of Bennettsville, South Carolina, was driving a 2011 Honda Accord sedan on Hatcher Road when the wreck happened around 7:12 p.m., according to 1st Sgt. Joheliah Wilson of the N.C. Highway Patrol.

Hill ran off the road to the right, overcorrected and swerved across the roadway, smashing into a tree on the left side. Wilson said troopers believe Hill was exceeding the posted speed limit.

“The speed and the overcorrection were a bad combination,” Wilson said. “She was by herself and she was wearing a seat belt.”

Hill died on impact and attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.

The wreck happened about four-tenths of a mile north of Battley Dairy Road near East Rockingham.

Troopers in the N.C. Highway Patrol’s Troop H, District II office have investigated seven fatalities resulting in eight deaths in Scotland and Richmond counties since Jan. 1, Wilson said. In 2015, the two-county district saw no fatalities before the month of April.

“That’s not quite the business we like to be in, but unfortunately, we have been busy,” Wilson said.

Speeding contributed to nearly a quarter of all North Carolina traffic fatalities in 2015, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. The state saw 322 speed-related deaths and 10,658 injuries due to speed last year.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the state participated in a speed crackdown dubbed “Obey the Sign or Pay the Fine” from March 24-April 3. The Governor’s Highway Safety Program, which organized the campaign, said miscommunication resulted in the message that drivers would be ticketed for traveling as little as 1 mph over the speed limit.

While officers exercise discretion when deciding whether to issue a citation, the operation was meant to stress that there is no “buffer zone” or acceptable margin above the posted speed limit that motorists are permitted to drive without being stopped.

Source :
Bennettsville woman killed in car accident