War Veteran And Wife Killed In Spring Lake Crash

On April 25, a soldier and his wife died of the personal injuries they suffered when their motorcycle was struck by a car on N.C. 87 in Spring Lake.

According to Spring Lake Police Officer B. Allee, Master Sgt. Stephen Walker Booth and Dawn McLendon Booth, both 33-year-old residents of Sanford, were southbound on a Harley Davidson motorcycle shortly before 10 a.m. when a Mazda driven by 24-year-old Spring Lake resident Ruth Ann Furnier pulled out in front of them from a convenience store.

Arrest documents say that Stephen Booth, who was driving the motorcycle, was ejected and was pronounced dead at 11:36 a.m. The documents say that Dawn Booth was pronounced dead at 10:54 a.m.

According to a release from the Army Special Operations Command, Stephen Booth was a senior Special Forces weapons sergeant who enlisted in May 1995 and earned his Green Beret in April 2004.

Stephen Booth was a veteran of five combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and his awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, two Army Commendation Medals for valor, the Achievement Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

Furnier was uninjured in the crash and was cited with two misdemeanor charges of death by vehicle and one misdemeanor charge of making an unsafe movement.