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Man that Caused North Carolina Car Crash that Killed Siblings May Have Been Having Psychiatric Breakdown

In Wake County, visiting Durham Superior Court Judge Ronald Stephens has decided to continue the hearing in the criminal case of driver Victoriano T. Layon. The 38-year-old Selma man is ready to plead guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter in the 2008 North Carolina car accident deaths of siblings Wanda Gail Altman, 53, and Daris Wayne Hancock, 49.

Layon struck the Ford Taurus that the siblings were riding in at the intersection of White Oak Road and US 70 on January 11, 2008. Layon, who had been operating a Ford F-150 at a high speed, rear-ended their vehicle, crushing it and killing Hancock and Altman.

Pleading guilty to the involuntary manslaughter charges would have set Layon free on probation. The defendant was at first charged with second-degree murder and has been behind bars for 16 months. Stephens, however, has requested that the defendant now be given a psychiatric evaluation. He says he doesn't feel comfortable releasing Layon just yet.

Layon?s psychiatric state at the time of the crash has long been an issue. His wife Jennifer, who was in the car with him and their two sons when he struck the other vehicle, reportedly told police that prior to the deadly auto incident, her husband started behaving strangely. He read specific portions of the Bible, experienced painful headaches, slammed the family cat into the ground, commented that Satan lived inside the pet, and told his wife that God was inside him. She also said he stepped on the gas pedal right before hitting the car that Altman and Hancock were riding in.

Following the deadly North Carolina car accident, he managed to throw off the people who were holding him down and ran off. Clayton police found him the next day. They say that he told them that God told him to hit the other car.

Wake County Car Accidents
If you were involved in a Wake County, North Carolina car accident that was caused by another party?s reckless, negligent, or careless behavior and you sustained serious injuries, you may be entitled to North Carolina personal injury compensation. If your loved one was killed in a Wake County traffic accident, you may have grounds for filing a North Carolina wrongful death lawsuit.

Did man's crisis cause crash?, News Observer, May 12, 2009

Bond Denied for Suspect in Fatal Hit-and-Run, WRAL.com, January 14, 2008

Related Web Resources:
Car Accidents Overview, Justia

The Tragedy of Fatal Hit and Run Accidents on America's Deadly Roads, Deadly Roads

Full post as published by North Carolina Injury Lawyer Blog on May 12, 2009 (boomark / email).