Driver identified in fatal Pender County wreck

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Pender County road has reopened and the driver has been identified following a deadly car crash Wednesday evening.

NC Highway Patrol Trooper CJ Murray confirmed that 36 year-old Derrick Johnson was traveling on Rhyne Road near Burgaw when his Cadillac sedan ran off the road, into a ditch before hitting a pine tree.

Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene.

Trooper Murray says the call came around 4:39 p.m. for a fully involved vehicle fire.

Multiple law enforcement officers and fire fighters responded to the scene.

Rhyne Road was reopened around 7:30 p.m.

The investigation into the crash is still ongoing, but Trooper Murray said they believe speed was a factor in the crash.