Benson Man Killed On His Birthday In Head-On Crash
BENSON – A Benson man was killed on his birthday and four others were injured Saturday afternoon in a violent head-on collision on U.S. 301 just south of Benson, near Hodges Chapel Road in Harnett County.
The crash, reported around 2 p.m., involved a green Tesla and a red Ram pickup. The impact sent the Tesla off the northbound shoulder, while the pickup overturned in the roadway.
A passenger in the pickup, 73 year-old Danny Wood of Benson died at the scene. The driver, a relative, was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Three people in the Tesla — an adult and two children — were also transported to a hospital. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
A witness reported the Tesla crossed the center and struck the pickup.
The N.C. Department of Transportation detoured traffic around the scene for nearly two hours while the State Highway Patrol investigated.
Saturday’s crash occurred approximately 100 feet from an August 29, 2025, head-on collision that seriously injured Rodney Eason, deputy chief with Dunn Emergency Services. Eason, who has since recovered, was responding to a structure fire when his emergency vehicle was struck by a truck that crossed the centerline. He was among the first responders at Saturday’s accident scene.
—
This story has been updated
Discover more from JoCo Report
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
10 Comments
Comments are closed.
Was it a driverless Tesla?
Three people in the Tesla — an adult and two children — were also transported to a hospital.
Sounds to me the driver was distracted
That’s not funny Laureen Hall!!!
She wasn’t being funny. She was simply asking if the car was one of those that can drive itself. But clearly, if she was on her phone it was a driverless car.
Truly! We were passing a Tesla guy on 95 practically laying back in drivers seat watching something on his phone .He was not driving the car.
Looked back at Tesla & you could see it not holding a good lane, slightly off one side to another.
Don’t Teslas have automatic collision avoidance? Why didn’t it work? Was it on self-drive? Questions that need to be answered.
Distracted driving is epidemic. IMO it is now causing more severe accidents than DUI, and virtually ignored.
She wasn’t being. Some of those cars can drive themselves. So that was her question.
When is the name of the person driving the Tesla going to be released? That should have already be released!! Danny Wood was a very good man and was greatly admired by everyone who knew him!
My prayers and condolences to the Wood family.
Why has the driver not been named in the report? The HP says charges pending.