ROCKINGHAM — A suspected drunk driver is accused of causing two wrecks on Christmas Eve resulting in three people being sent to hospitals.
According to the N.C. State Highway Patrol, 53-year-old Nicky Todd Cagle was driving his Buick south on U.S. 1 last Tuesday when he ran into the back of a Honda driven by Allison Swope of Stoneville near Hamer Mill Road at an estimated speed of 60 mph.
Damage to both vehicles is estimated at $2,000 each.
Swope pulled over but Cagle reportedly kept going.
A short time later, Cagle was reportedly traveling north on U.S. 1 when he rear-ended a Mercedes-Benz SUV driven by Patricia Pinchot of Greensboro.
The impact pushed Pinchot’s vehicle across the center line into the southbound lane and into the path of a Ford pickup driven by Shalar David Sellers Jr. of Lilesville, troopers say. Those two vehicles collided head-on.
David Pinchot, a passenger in the SUV, was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, and Sellers was airlifted to UNC Hospital in Chapel Hill, according to troopers. Sellers’ teenage son was taken to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital-Richmond.
Trooper M.A. Lindsey, who investigated the first wreck, charged Cagle with failure to reduce speed, according to online court records.
Trooper K.N. York, investigator of the second wreck, charged Cagle with driving while impaired, reckless driving and failure to reduce speed. Online records show Cagle also has an infraction for having an open container of alcohol in the passenger area and had his driver’s license revoked for 30 days.
York said Cagle refused to submit to a breathalyzer so troopers obtained a search warrant for a blood test and are awaiting the results.
Cagle is scheduled to appear in court Jan. 28 for the first wreck and Feb. 12 for the second.
He was booked into the Richmond County Jail under a $2,000 secured bond. Jail records show he is also charged with criminal contempt. He was still in jail Dec. 31.
Records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction show Cagle was convicted of disorderly conduct in 1985 and assault on a female in both 1992 and 2018.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
