Driver Sentenced After I-95 Crash Leaves Smithfield Man Double Amputee

SMITHFIELD, N.C. — More than five months after a horrific Interstate 95 crash forever changed the life of a Smithfield man, the Virginia driver responsible has received the maximum punishment allowed by law.

On August 4, Makayli Pierce, 22, of Newport News, Virginia, pleaded guilty in Johnston County Superior Court to multiple felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the Feb. 27 crash that left Virgil Lamark Archibald II, 38, permanently disabled after both of his legs were amputated.

Pierce pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, driving without insurance, and operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. Prosecutors said the court imposed the maximum sentence permitted under North Carolina law.

A Routine Tire Change Turned Tragic

The collision occurred around 4:04 p.m. on Feb. 27 on the southbound shoulder of Interstate 95 near the Smithfield Outlets.

Archibald had stopped after his pickup truck suffered a flat tire. According to prosecutors, he had been on the shoulder for approximately 10 to 15 minutes when a family friend arrived in another vehicle to help. Another vehicle had also stopped behind them.

Authorities said Archibald was standing between the parked vehicles retrieving tools from the trunk when Pierce, driving a Buick Envista, left the travel lane, drove onto the shoulder, and slammed into the rear of one of the parked vehicles at a high rate of speed.

The impact crushed Archibald between two vehicles.

Emergency responders rushed him to WakeMed in Raleigh, where doctors were forced to amputate both of his legs because of the catastrophic injuries he suffered.

Investigation Led To DWI Charges

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol determined Pierce had been transported from the crash scene to Johnston Health in Smithfield. Troopers went to the hospital to investigate whether impairment played a role in the collision.

According to the District Attorney’s Office, Pierce admitted she had consumed airplane-sized bottles of vodka, although she claimed she drank them the day before the crash. Based on their observations, troopers obtained a search warrant for a blood sample.

Subsequent testing by the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory found Pierce’s blood contained a blood alcohol concentration of .20, more than twice North Carolina’s legal limit of .08, as well as THC, prosecutors said.

Enhanced Charge Filed

Assistant District Attorney Mark Mayakis prosecuted the case on behalf of the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office.

In addition to the original charges, prosecutors obtained an enhanced charge of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, arguing Pierce’s recklessness and impaired driving justified the more serious felony offense.

Pierce pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felony serious injury by vehicle, reckless driving, driving without insurance, and operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. Superior Court Judge William Pittman sentenced Pierce to 25 to 42 months in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under North Carolina’s structured sentencing laws based on her criminal record.

Johnston County District Attorney Jason Waller said, “This case highlights the obvious dangers of impaired driving and how poor choices put innocent lives at risk and can lead to life altering consequences.”

The case closes the criminal proceedings, but for Archibald, the consequences of the crash will last a lifetime, with injuries that permanently altered his future.