Woman Involved In Collision With Fayetteville Police Vehicle Charged With DWI

A woman involved in a collision with a city police cruiser in which personal injuries were sustained on Hay Street on the morning of August 17 has been charged with driving while impaired.

Fayetteville police spokesman Sgt. John Somerindyke said that Erika Kristen Pennell, no age or address given, was also charged with turning left into the path of the police car.

Somerindyke said that shortly after midnight, Officer Shawn Parker was westbound on Hay Street when Pennell, who was eastbound on Hay Street, made a left turn onto Bradford Avenue. He said Parker’s car struck Pennell’s vehicle in the right front side.

Somerindyke said both Parker and Pennell received transport to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, where they were released after undergoing treatment. He said the damages were estimated to have been $21,000 to the patrol vehicle and $8,000 to Pennell’s vehicle.

The crash was the second involving a Fayetteville police vehicle within the same weekend. On August 15, a pedestrian was fatally struck by a patrol car he stepped in front of on Grove Street.