Virginia woman charged with ‘left of center’ in fatal head-on collision on Hatteras Island

A fatal collision took place the afternoon of Tuesday, June 24, 2025, on N.C. Highway 12 near Lela Court in Waves, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. (Image courtesy of Dare County GIS)

By staff reports

WAVES — A Newport News, Virginia, woman was charged with “left of center” following a head-on collision Tuesday in Waves that ultimately resulted in her husband’s death, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

Joan Casey, 84, was identified as the driver who was charged. John Casey, 90, her husband, was a passenger on Tuesday afternoon, was not wearing a seatbelt and later died from injuries sustained in the vehicle collision, according to a Thursday afternoon email from a North Carolina State Highway Patrol spokesperson.

Officers responded to a head-on vehicle collision at approximately 2:43 p.m. Tuesday on N.C. Highway 12 near Lela Court in Waves, a village located on Hatteras Island, according to the email.

The Caseys were traveling south on N.C. Highway 12 when Joan Casey crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a northbound vehicle, according to the Highway Patrol. She was transported to the Outer Banks Health Hospital in Nags Head with non-life-threatening injuries.

Her husband, John Casey, “was a passenger in the vehicle and wasn’t wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision,” the Highway Patrol email said.

He was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with life-threatening injuries, “where he succumbed to his injuries,” the email continued. “The driver and occupants of the vehicle Joan Casey struck weren’t injured.”

After consulting with the District Attorney’s Office, law enforcement charged Joan Casey with “left of center,” which is a traffic citation, according to Master Trooper Rico L. Stephens.

Driving left of center means the vehicle crossed the yellow line dividing the directions of travel on the highway.

Multiple citizens on Tuesday reported traffic being stopped in both directions on N.C. Highway 12 around Lela Court following the time of the collision.

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