PITTSBORO — Rumors of a potential suicide jumper began to swirl last Monday night after an accident on the Haw River bridge on U.S. Hwy. 15-501 just north of Pittsboro.
At around 7:41 p.m., a 2010 Toyota careened into the side of the bridge, in between the north- and south-bound lanes. The north and south-bound lanes are actually two separate bridges, with an open space in between which drops straight to the Haw River, more than a hundred feet below.
Chatham resident Virginia Penley was driving past the accident just as the first law enforcement officer arrived.
“The car was hanging down at a 45-degree angle,” Penley said. “The headlights were pointed down to the river with its rear lights in the air.”
Penley noted that the first law enforcement officer on the scene screeched to a halt at the scene, jumping out of his vehicle with a flashlight and began frantically searching the interior of the vehicle before using his flashlight to look in the water below. According to State Highway Patrol Sgt. Zeb Stroup, when other law enforcement arrived on the scene, the car’s driver was not in the vehicle. Because of the seriousness of the accident, initial concerns were that the driver had somehow fallen into the Haw River below.
The truth was very different, according to Stroup.
It turns out the driver of the vehicle, Elizabeth Gutierrez, 22, of Durham, had secured a ride from the scene following the accident. The friend who picked her up — who was unnamed by law enforcement and was not cited — later returned to the scene. He spoke with law enforcement and explained what had happened.
Later that evening, law enforcement located Gutierrez at her apartment in Durham. She was charged with careless and reckless driving, leaving a scene of an accident and driving with a revoked license. When asked if Gutierrez was charged with any type of driving impaired crime, Stroup noted that when the officers arrived at Gutierrez’ apartment, they did not find her impaired.
Stroup was not yet aware of the first court date for the charges, but it would likely occur in District Court in Pittsboro.
Casey Mann can be reached at CaseyMann@Chathamnr.com.