Underage drinker charged in fatal Wake County DWI crash
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A 20-year-old driver involved in a single-car accident that killed one of his passengers in Raleigh early Friday morning has been charged.
Morris Lee Wilks II has been charged with DWI, reckless driving, and a provisional license violation.
Wilks was driving just before 3 a.m. along Mount Vernon Church Road and Tredwood Drive, off Six Forks Road, just north of Interstate 540 when officials said he lost control of a 2007 Toyota passenger vehicle.
The car drove into a curve, ran off the road, then hit a tree and a rock wall, before crashing into a wooded area.
Three men were inside the vehicle and one of the passengers, 21-year-old Simon Peter Curran, was killed in the crash.
ABC11 spoke with Robert Weaver, who owns the property where the crash happened. He and his wife were awakened from sleep to one of the passengers pounding at the front door.
"He said, 'My friend is trapped in the car. We can't get him out,'" said Weaver.
Weaver and his wife raced out of their North Raleigh home to the corner of their property to find the car mangled and tipped on its side. There were car parts all over the ground.
"It's scary to walk up on that," said Weaver. "It was horrible. The car torn to pieces."
Weaver said Curran was pinned in the backseat and his friends were desperately trying to help him.
"He was just massaging him, like trying to resuscitate him. It was kind of sad," said Weaver. "I was afraid he had a neck injury. So I said, 'Look, rescue is around the corner. I knew they'd be here in four or five minutes.'"
Wilks and another passenger, 19-year-old Marquian Javon Sanders, were treated at the scene for non-life threatening injuries.
"It was a wonder it didn't kill all of them really," said Weaver. "It makes you realize how fragile life is. Makes you think to appreciate every day."
Wilks posted a $1,000 bond and was released from jail. He is due in court in July.
Investigators are consulting the Wake County DA's office regarding charges in Curran's death.
