ROCKINGHAM— A woman is facing manslaughter charges following a tragic accident that left another woman and a child dead late Wednesday night.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about an accident involving a utility task vehicle on Locklear Drive, according to a press release issued Thursday evening.
When emergency crews arrived, the found a side-by-side UTV flipped over with two patients critically injured, investigators say.
First responders attended to both victims who were later pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s office.
The victims were 46-year-old Kimberly Dawn Freeman of Hamlet and an unidentified 4-year-old boy. Investigators cannot release the child’s name because of his age.
Deputies arrested 44-year-old Catherine Hayes Geanes, of Trailcrest Drive, at the scene and charged here with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.
Investigators say there is no relation between Geanes and the victims, but they were friends.
Geanes is also charged with felony child abuse with physical injury and trespassing with an all-terrain vehicle.
Investigators say the sheriff’s office is being assisted by the N.C. Highway Patrol Collision Reconstruction Unit.
She was booked into the Richmond County Jail at 4:07 a.m. where she is being held under a combined $175,000 secured bond. Her court date is not yet known.
Online court records show Geanes has no other pending charges.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Geanes was convicted in 1994 of four counts of receiving stolen goods — three counts in Moore County and one count in Richmond County.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
