CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. — Students and staff at a high school in Cleveland County are mourning the death of a teenager killed in a car crash over the weekend.
Troopers said 18-year-old Jody Fox died after his car veered off Chatfield Road and slammed into a tree Sunday morning. Since the crash, friends of Fox placed flowers at the tree where his life ended.
Fox was a senior at Crest High School and an Air Force ROTC member.
Troopers believed speed was a factor in the accident. The speed limit on the road is 55 mph; investigators said Fox was going 70 mph. Troopers also said the teen didn't hit the brakes or yank the steering wheel. They believe fatigue may have played a part as well.
Above all, investigators are trying to figure out what Fox was doing on Chatfield Road in the first place.
"None of his friends or family or anybody lives on that road, so we're trying to figure out why he was on that road, where he was coming from and where he was heading," said Trooper Richard Hall.
There have been 22 deadly accidents in Cleveland County this year.
