Trooper Was Reportedly Traveling At 120 mph In Fatal Guilford Crash

According to a report released on May 27, a North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was traveling at a rate of 120 mph while pursuing a speeder when he collided with a vehicle that turned into his path, resulting in two people suffering fatal personal injuries.

NCHP commander Col. Randy Glover said that an outside investigation of the incident would be conducted by the Attorney General’s Office in order to ensure that all policies and procedures had been followed.

Authorities say that Trooper J.D. Goodnight was attempting to catch a southbound Buick Skylark that was traveling at a rate of 80 mph on U.S. Highway 29/70 in Guilford County on the morning of May 23. At the time, 55-year-old Thomasville resident Sandra Allmond was traveling north in a 1995 Honda and attempted to turn left at a green light onto River Road, turning into the path of Goodnight’s vehicle.

The impact split Allmond’s vehicle apart, with the front end traveling back across the median into the northbound lanes, according to the NCHP’s preliminary crash report.

Allmond died open impact. One of three children she had in her car, 11-year-old Jamestown resident Taylor Strange, received transport to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston Salem, but was later pronounced dead. The other two children, Allmond’s grandson, 11-year-old Elijah Allmond, and 9-year-old Steven Strange, both receive hospital transport, but were released after undergoing treatment.

The report says that Allmond “failed to yield” when she entered the intersection and that Goodnight attempted to slow down and swerve to avoid the collision. It says that he was traveling at 95 mph at the time of impact.

Witnesses say that Goodnight had his blue lights on, but they did not hear a siren.