Salisbury teen critical after scooter accident

Fire and EMS workers take the accident victim to an awaiting ambulance. A scooter and a Ford Expedition collided in the intersection of Bringle Ferry Road and North Long Street on Monday afternoon. 19-year-old Jeremy Eagle, on the scooter, was taken to Rowan Regional and a helicopter was called in to transport him to Carolinas Medical Center. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

A scooter and a Ford Expedition collided in the intersection of Bringle Ferry Road and North Long Street on Monday afternoon. A 19-year-old man on the scooter was taken to the hospitial and a helicopter was called in to transport him to Carolinas Medical Center. Photo by Jon C. Lakey, Salisbury Post.

By Shavonne Potts

spotts@salisburypost.com

A 19-year-old Salisbury man was critically injured in a two-vehicle accident Monday at the intersection of Long Street and Bringle Ferry Road.

Jeremy Bruce Eagle, of 1225 Chez Charloais Road, was riding a 2006 Qingqi scooter north on Long Street toward East Spencer.

Morris Keith Jones, 36, of 822 Brookmont Ave., Salisbury, was driving a 1998 Ford Expedition on Henderson Street. He was driving east and crossing Long Street when the wreck occurred at 2:33 p.m.

Salisbury Master Police Officer J.P. Miller investigated the collision and said a witness reported Eagle ran a red light.

"He was wearing a helmet, but he does have head trauma," Miller said of Eagle, who was taken initially to Rowan Regional Medical Center and then flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he remained in critical condition late Monday.

Jones was not injured in the wreck, which tied up traffic for about 40 minutes.

Miller said charged are pending but it did not appear Monday afternoon that speed was a factor in the 35 mph zone. Alcohol was not a factor.

Miller said Eagle is a senior at East Rowan High.

Eagle's father, Shelton, arrived at the scene, was told his son was taken to the hospital and quickly rushed toward Rowan Regional.

The wreck is the latest tragic event in Jeremy Eagle's life.

When Eagle was barely two years old, he suffered burns over nearly half his body while strapped into a car seat.

Eagle's then 4-year-old sister flipped a cigarette lighter, igniting a piece of paper, officials said at the time.

In 2003, his sister, Crystal Nicole Eagle, who was then 16, was charged in the shooting deaths of their mother and their mother's boyfriend in West Virginia. She said they had both abused her and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

In addition to the Salisbury Police Department, the Salisbury Fire Department and Rowan EMS responded to Monday's wreck.