Driver Killed In Sampson County Crash Identified

SAMPSON COUNTY — Authorities have identified the driver killed in a two-vehicle crash Tuesday morning in Sampson County.

The N.C. State Highway Patrol said Olin Leonard Paul III, of Terrals Creek Road in Eastover, died after the SUV he was driving crossed the centerline and collided with a tractor-trailer on U.S. 13 near Sunny Lane in the Godwin community.

The crash happened around 10:05 a.m. when Paul’s westbound 2008 Ford Explorer crossed into the eastbound lane and sideswiped a tractor-trailer, troopers said. The SUV then ran off the right side of the roadway, struck a ditch and came to rest facing east.

Paul was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

The tractor-trailer, a 2025 International, was driven by Brian Keith Burgess of Goldsboro. Burgess was taken to a local hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries. The truck came to rest on the eastbound shoulder of the highway.

The crash remains under investigation.