Truck driver charged in deaths of two

DUNN, N.C.

Twenty-five-year-old Samuel Alan Brown III of Coats is charged with two counts of felony death by motor vehicle and driving while impaired.

Officials say the crash happened south of Dunn on Highway 82 near the border of Cumberland and Harnett counties about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

The victims were 27-year-old Chris Smith and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Ashli Armstrong. Smith was an insurance agent and Armstrong was a nursing student who also volunteered with Dunn Emergency Services.

"To us, it's a family. So you've lost somebody in the family. And we just take it one day at a time and deal with it," said Chief Austin Tew with Dunn Emergency Services.

One of Smith's friends who spoke with ABC11 Sunday is remembering him as a kind and generous person.

"He was a real good guy. He was an awesome person. He'd give you the shirt off his back," said Jamie Capps.

Brown is being held in the Harnett County jail. It wasn't clear if he has an attorney. According to police, he told them he was distracted by his iPod.

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