The Highway Patrol has identified a driver killed in a violent crash on Highway 301 South of Benson Tuesday afternoon.
The wreck was reported at 2:55pm on Highway 301 at Hobson Road in Harnett County.
Troopers said Stephen Keith Champion, 31, of S. Broad Street, Angier was traveling eastbound on Hobson Road in a 2003 Ford and was struck in the driver’s side door by a 2009 Mazda traveling southbound on US 301 and operated by Lauren Alexis Householder, 29, of Meadowlark Road, Dunn. After the impact, the Ford ran off the roadway. The Mazda came to rest in the roadway near the point of impact.
Champion was airlifted to the hospital but died as a result of his injuries.
Two passengers in his car, Crystal Marie Dillon, 28, of Dunn and Arlen Lee Gibler, 40, of Angier were injured. Dillon was taken to the hospital. Gibler was treated and released at the scene.
Householder, the driver of the Mazda, was also taken to the hospital.
Trooper D.N. Pope with the NC Highway Patrol in Harnett County is still investigating the cause of the crash. Photos by John Payne
