Youth counselor killed in DWI crash in Durham

Friday, March 13, 2015
Youth counselor killed in DWI crash
Durham police say Daryl Brooks was driving under the influence when he rear-ended Kelwin Biggs.

DURHAM (WTVD) -- Durham police will soon meet with the District Attorney's Office to decide whether to pursue additional charges against a man cited in a fatal crash that claimed the life of a youth counselor.

Police say Daryl Lamar Brooks,41, of Durham, was driving southbound on Fayetteville Road when his vehicle rear-ended a car driven by Kelwin Biggs, 53, also of Durham.

Biggs' vehicle then collided with oncoming traffic.

A female driver was injured and taken to the hospital. Brooks was also taken to the hospital. Both suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Biggs was pronounced dead at the scene.

He worked as a youth counselor with troubled teens at the C.A. Dillon Youth Development Center in Butner. He left his job in January, according to a NC Department of Public Safety spokesperson.

"He was like a dad to me," recalled family friend Jarrett McCarter, adding that Biggs was very supportive during a difficult time in his life. "He molded me to be the man I am today."

Biggs lived just two miles from the scene of the wreck. His family was too distraught to speak with ABC11 on camera. They are questioning why Brooks was behind the wheel of car considering his lengthy criminal record.

According to court documents, Brooks received his first DWLR citation in North Carolina in 1998. He would be cited at least five additional times.

In 2005, an officer stopped him for having tinted windows. He found an open container of alcohol in the backseat and later charged him with DWLR.

The NC Department of Corrections lists Brooks as an absconder after he failed to meet with his probation officer last October.

Brooks is out of the hospital awaiting his next court date.

The Biggs family is planning a funeral. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

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