An elderly driver was killed, his wife injured, after their SUV overturned off Interstate 95 in Johnston County on Thursday afternoon.
The single vehicle accident was reported at 12:08pm on the northbound side of the I-95 near the 101 mile marker at Micro.
According to the Highway Patrol, a 2003 GMC Envoy was traveling northbound when the driver, Mahammed Nawaz, 70, of New York, NY ran off the right side, struck a guardrail, and overturned onto a service road.
The impact with the steel guardrail was so violent, it ripped the driver’s seat from the vehicle. Nawaz died at the scene.
His wife, a front seat passenger, 73 year-old Gail Nawaz also of New York, NY, was transported to Wake Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
One northbound lane of I-95 was shut down until a NC DOT contractor could repair the damaged guardrail.
A driver following the victim’s SUV reported seeing the vehicle “fishtailing” as they changed lanes and ended up out of control.
Trooper C.E. Summerlin said alcohol nor speed were factors.
The Micro Fire Department, Johnston County EMS, Johnston County Sheriff’s Office and NC Department of Transportation responded to the scene. Photos by John Payne
