Young friends who loved fishing die in crash with accused impaired driver, NC cops say

A North Carolina community is grieving the loss of two friends who were killed when police say a speeding driver crashed into their car.

Isaac Bowen, 18, and Jordan Humphrey, 17, were killed on July 29 by a driver who police suspect was impaired, according to WRAL. Madison Plumley and Tyler Bowen survived and were taken to Duke University Hospital, where Tyler Bowen underwent surgeries for his injuries.

The driver is accused of going 75 mph in a 45 mph speed zone when he crossed the center line and hit the friends’ car, CBS17 reported from a police report.

The 18-year-old driver was charged with two counts of felony death by vehicle and driving while impaired, according to WRAL. State troopers could not be immediately reached for comment by McClatchy News.

“These boys were like glue,” one community member wrote on Facebook. “They loved each other and stuck together… they all have been apart of our family for years.”

Humphrey would have been a junior this fall at Person High School, and Bowen was employed as an inspector at SQI, according to each of their obituaries.

“Jordan (Humphrey) was in my class this past school year,” a former teacher wrote on Facebook. “He was always respectful and such a great student. This is a sad situation and prayers for his family at this difficult time and all the other people involved.”

Tarsha Palmer, Humphrey’s mother, told ABC11 that her son and Bowen had been friends since elementary school. They both enjoyed fishing, gaming and sports, relatives wrote in their obituaries.

“He was a happy-go-lucky guy, he made everybody laugh,” Palmer told ABC11 her son. “He had his whole future ahead of him that you know he had kind of planned it out.”

Roxboro is a small city of about 8,100 people, according to Census data. Community members expressed an outpouring of condolences and prayers after hearing news of the crash.

The McDonald’s where Humphrey worked hosted a vigil for both teens on Tuesday, Aug 1. A nurse at Person County Schools wrote that she would never forget her last conversation with Bowen, while someone who knew Humphrey reminisced on Facebook about one of his favorite songs.

“I love y’all,” another friend wrote on Facebook. “I will forever say y’all names till the day I die.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2023 at 3:36 PM with the headline "Young friends who loved fishing die in crash with accused impaired driver, NC cops say."