Man pleads guilty to causing deadly crash after robbing Porters Neck Walmart

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — The man who led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that caused the death of an innocent bystander in 2019 pleaded guilty in court Wednesday.

Thomas Willoughby Jr. appeared in New Hanover County court Wednesday afternoon.

He pleaded guilty to guilty to second-degree murder, larceny from a merchant, robbery with a dangerous weapon, felonious hit and run causing death, DWI, and several other charges  in the 2019 death of Sean Evans, 51.

New Hanover County sheriff deputies were responding to an armed robbery at the Porters Neck Walmart when they began chasing a white car.

The chase led officers into the City of Wilmington, where Willoughby rammed a deputy’s vehicle and ran red lights before causing the crash that killed Evans.

Willoughby was driving on Wrightsville Avenue in excess of 90 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone, when he reportedly failed to stop at the red light on Colonial Drive. While in the intersection, he hit a jeep driven by Evans. Evans was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.