“We keep arresting him and he keeps returning to the public”
By Robert Jordan
Daily Record of Dunn
PLAINVIEW COMMUNITY – One man will be facing charges when and if he recovers from the serious injuries he sustained in a crash that troopers say could have been avoided on Wednesday afternoon. The collision also injured a woman and children in another car. The man remained in intensive care Thursday. The woman was also still hospitalized, but was expected to recover.
Plain View Fire Department rescue technicians and firefighters, Sampson County EMS paramedics, Sampson County deputies and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol were dispatched to the intersection of Green Path and Spring Branch roads at 4:40 p.m. for a motor vehicle crash.
The first unit on the scene found a heavily damaged Ford Mustang in the front yard of a home and a Chevrolet Suburban in the highway.
The male driver of the Mustang, later identified as 32-year-old Steven Thomas Nickles of Salemburg, sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted to WakeMed’s main campus in Raleigh. The female driver of the Suburban, identified as Megan High, and her two children were transported to Betsy Johnson Hospital. High was later transferred to Cape Fear Valley Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Her children were treated and released to family.
Trooper J.M. Cox of Troop B District 2 investigated the crash, but immediately left the scene to continue his investigation at WakeMed. Another Highway Patrol official confirmed that Nickles performed a reckless maneuver known as a “burn out” from the 4-way stop intersection towards Dunn on Spring Branch Road just before the crash. Nickles reportedly lost control of his vehicle and it turned sideways in the roadway and was struck in the passenger side door by the approaching Suburban.
Megan High is the wife and daughter of law enforcement officials in Sampson County.
Based on statements from witnesses at the scene, the Record contacted Sampson County Sheriff Jimmy Thornton about the crash. “Nickles has been causing problems in Sampson County since January of this year as a result of his driving,” said Thornton. “My agency alone has received numerous complaints about this man driving recklessly. Our deputies have repeatedly issued citations to Nickles for driving while license revoked and other charges, but when he appears in court, the toughest sentence we have been able to obtain is a 45-day sentence in the Sampson County Detention Center.”
Thornton was very upset that he and other law enforcement agencies have been unable to get Nickles off of the road.
A check of online court records and arrest records indicate that Nickles has been charged with over 130 driving offenses in multiple counties since 2012.
“We keep arresting him and he keeps returning to the public,” Thornton lamented. “We’re not giving up, but this man is a menace to the safety of innocent people and now he has injured family members of law enforcement.”
Meanwhile, sources say that Nickles is on a ventilator at WakeMed, but the status of his current condition remains unknown.
It’s time to be able to file lawsuits against the judges that don’t do anything but scratch there buts! It’s bad judges that make the morale of a Police Officer low. I for one stand with the LEOs.
Could it be that the judges hands are tied? Could it be that the judge gave this IDIOT the maximum penalty allowed by law? Maybe the max penalties need to be increased, but that would require the General Assembly to do their jobs. But wait that won’t happen because a POWER GAB is more important to them than doing their jobs.
Your right, about the max but we also know about repeat offenders and a judge can give the max sentence, but they normally do not. I want you to know that I do understand what you are saying and do agree with you, but the State does need to make the penalties higher but again the judge may not give and normally does not impose the highest penalty.
Sounds as if he has more money than he has sense. Hopefully this time if he lives a non~crooked Judge will get the case and he can’t buy his way out and gets a lengthy jail sentence!
take away his licence yet ?
That’s never stopped anyone from driving and acting crazy. We see if everyday. Slap on the wrist. Find someone to come and get you or find someone to drive the car home and don’t let us catch you driving again unless you have a valid Drivers license.
I was sitting at red light in Brunswick county and a Menace slammed in the back of me doing 45 mph. My car totaled, and he too has a revoked license. Revoked license is a revoked license. He also had no insurance. Many tickets too! Arrest record too! 🥵
“over 130 driving offenses in multiple counties since 2012”
And he’s still driving….