Driver charged in Burlington crash that killed pedestrian, injured another

A Durham driver has been charged in the Burlington pedestrian crash that killed Curtis Lee Ridgeway and left Kristie Williams Huffines in critical but stable condition. Police said the June 20 collision at North Church Street, also U.S. 70, and Nike Drive is now a criminal case, with Jeron Ricole Robertson due in Alamance County District Court on Aug. 10.

Burlington police responded at about 9:21 p.m. to the 2400 block of North Church Street, where two pedestrians were crossing the roadway when they were struck by a motor vehicle. Ridgeway, 53, died at the scene. Huffines, 55, was taken to a trauma center. The roadway later reopened after part of U.S. 70 was closed for several hours while investigators worked the scene.

Robertson, 34, was charged on June 29 with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, failure to reduce speed, failure to secure a passenger under 16 and possession of Schedule VI marijuana. The charges put the case on the court calendar and signal that investigators are treating the crash as more than an ordinary traffic collision.

The location matters for Burlington drivers because North Church Street is one of the city’s busiest connectors, carrying U.S. 70 traffic between the east and west sides of town and cutting through a corridor where pedestrians still cross near major intersections. The crash landed in a stretch of road that the city is already studying through its North Church Street Area Plan, which focuses on redevelopment, reinvestment and revitalization around N. Church Street, Vaughn Road and Graham Hopedale Road.

Burlington says its traffic section targets high-accident areas and other conditions that can undermine safe travel, using speed measurement instruments as part of citywide enforcement. The city’s $21.5 million transportation bond also includes street resurfacing, sidewalk repairs and filling sidewalk gaps, work aimed at improving safety and walkability in neighborhoods that feed into the corridor.

State transportation officials say NCDOT updates traffic safety maps each year to identify crash patterns and improve road safety. In a city where both victims lived and one remains hospitalized, the crash has become another stark example of how quickly a crossing on U.S. 70 can turn fatal.