Fayetteville man recovering after being struck by drunken driver

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville man is recovering at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center after he was struck by a car.

Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App

William Whitehead, 28, has a broken femur and other injuries, his grandmother Tholinda Franklin told ABC11 on Friday.

Police said Whitehead was struck just after 2 a.m. while walking along the 7600 block of Raeford Road, near the entrance to the VA center.

According to police reports, the car that struck Whitehead - a 2016 Hyundai Elantra - continued down the road but then turned around, went back to the accident scene, and the driver called 911.

Franklin said her grandson has lived with her since he was a young teenager. She doesn't know why he was out at 2 a.m., but said he's not one to cause trouble.

"I'm the only person that he knows," Franklin said. "Grandkids curse their grandparents and all that, but no, anything I ask him to do, he would do anything for me."

Now she's praying for her grandson's recovery.

"He had been around the house more," Franklin said. "He is not a very talkative person; he doesn't talk a lot, but he would sit downstairs and he would talk with me and we would talk."

Police told ABC11 that the driver, 32-year-old Joseph Conner, was charged with DWI.

The incident remains under investigation.