Former Greensboro officer charged in fatal High Point crash

A Greensboro police SUV was moving 76 mph in a 35 mph zone when it struck another car at East Cone Boulevard and North O'Henry Boulevard in High Point, leaving Xavier T. Crosson of Climax with fatal injuries weeks later. The former officer behind the wheel, Haley L. Maeurer, now faces misdemeanor death by motor vehicle and speeding charges in a case that has put emergency-response driving and police accountability under a sharp local spotlight.

High Point police said the crash happened about 2:30 a.m. on May 3, 2026, as Maeurer was driving east on East Cone Boulevard and passing through the intersection while responding to assist another officer. Investigators said the patrol car struck the front passenger door of the other vehicle. The passenger, Crosson, 35, died on May 16 from his injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was taken to the hospital and later released.

The case moved from injury crash to criminal charge on June 15, when High Point police announced the misdemeanor death by motor vehicle count and the speeding citation. Police said the emergency lights and siren were not activated at the time of the collision, a detail that matters because North Carolina law requires emergency vehicles in response situations to use appropriate lights and an audible siren. The first public account of the wreck described it as a three-person hospitalization involving a Greensboro police SUV.

Maeurer has since voluntarily resigned from the Greensboro Police Department, according to the department. High Point police said the investigation was conducted at Greensboro’s request, placing the case in the hands of an outside agency rather than the officer’s own department. That separation became more significant as the legal case advanced from a traffic investigation to a criminal charge tied to a death in Guilford County.

Greensboro Police Chief Kamran Afzal, who was sworn in May 12 and began duties the next day after John Thompson’s retirement, said the department was focused on accountability and training after the crash. “We understand the gravity of this situation and the importance of accountability,” Afzal said. The case now stands as a test of how local law enforcement holds one of its own to the same rules that govern every emergency response on Guilford County roads.