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Ariel Miramon Soriano

Age : 3

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 05/25/2021

Location : NC-70 and N Oak Forest Road

City : Goldsboro

County : Wayne

State : North Carolina

Agency : Goldsboro Police Department

Officer(s) :Not disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR CHASE: Goldsboro police received a citizen complaint shortly before 11:20 a.m. reporting a pickup truck traveling at high speed and being driven carelessly and recklessly. An officer in an unmarked Goldsboro Police Department vehicle located the pickup near U.S. Highway 70 East and Berkeley Boulevard, activated emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop it. Police followed the pickup when the driver continued.
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NARRATIVE:
On 05/25/2021, Goldsboro Police Department officers responded to a citizen's report of a reckless, speeding driver on U.S. Highway 70. An officer in an unmarked police vehicle located the pickup near U.S. 70 East and Berkeley Boulevard and activated the vehicle's emergency lights and siren. Police followed the pickup eastbound on U.S. 70 for less than one minute before the fatal collision.
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Police documented the pickup traveling 75 mph in a 55-mph zone before the crash. The pursuit continued toward the intersection of U.S. 70 East and Oak Forest Road, where traffic was stopped at a red light.
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Three-year-old Ariel Soriano was riding in the rear of a vehicle driven by his mother, 41-year-old Reina Soriano-Regalada. Ariel was secured in a child safety seat. The pickup struck their vehicle from behind, forcing it into a tractor-trailer stopped at the intersection.
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Ariel was killed in the collision. His mother sustained serious injuries and was transported to Wayne UNC Health Care. Tractor-trailer driver Robert R. Wagner Jr., 66, sustained minor injuries and was also transported for treatment. The pickup driver sustained serious injuries.
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North Carolina State Highway Patrol investigated the fatal crash. Troopers reported that the pickup driver was experiencing an undisclosed medical condition during the attempted police stop and crash.
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DISPOSITION:
The fleeing driver was Christopher Kelly Blair, 39. Goldsboro police initially charged Blair with reckless driving and traveling 75 mph in a 55-mph zone.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES: 1 fatality, 3 injuries

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.goldsborodailynews.com/2021/05/26/victims-in-fatal-crash-identified-further-charges-pending/
https://www.goldsborodailynews.com/2021/05/26/child-killed-in-crash-on-u-s-70-in-goldsboro/
https://www.wral.com/story/3-year-old-child-killed-when-driver-crashes-into-cars-at-stoplight-on-us-70/19695300/
https://abc11.com/post/goldsboro-crash-on-70-oak-forest-nc/10694296/
https://www.witn.com/2021/05/25/child-killed-after-driver-fleeing-from-police-hits-vehicle-on-us-70/
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/228035658/ariel_miramon-soriano