Driver sentenced in hit-and-run near Clayton that killed Goldsboro mom in late 2024, DA says

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (WNCN) — A driver will spend at least eight years in prison after a Johnston County hit-and-run crash killed a Goldsboro mother and injured others in her family just days before Christmas in 2024, according to the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office.

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In a Friday news release, the District Attorney announced that Robert Brad Williams of Hickory pleaded guilty in the December 15, 2024, wreck that killed Kortney Summer Atkins, 24.

The hit-and-run crash happened just after 3 a.m. that Sunday in the eastbound lanes of U.S. 70 Bypass near mile marker 319, which is Cornwallis Road, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

A wrong-way driver was going west in the eastbound lanes in a white BMW, which caught fire after the wreck with a Jeep Cherokee, officials said. The BMW driver, who troopers said was Williams, ran from the scene and managed to evade searches that included K-9 units.

Atkins, 24, was a passenger in a white Jeep Cherokee heading east in the eastbound lanes. She died on the way to WakeMed, troopers said.

Her 4-year-old son and his father, along with another woman in the Jeep, were all taken to WakeMed with serious injuries.

Williams, who was sentenced to between 8 and 10.6 years, managed to elude authorities until he was caught three weeks later, according to troopers.

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Williams was caught after troopers pulled over a 2016 white Mercedes-Benz on Interstate-95 northbound at the 71-mile marker in Harnett County, officials said.

“This conviction is a testament to the determination and persistence of Sgt. Nathan White, Trooper Colby Hall, and other members of the Highway Patrol who refused to let this case go unsolved,” District Attorney Jason Waller said in the news release.

Williams pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and felony hit and run resulting in death.

The Friday news release said Williams also admitted to being a habitual felon, which elevated both offenses from Class F felonies to Class C felonies under North Carolina law, resulting in a substantially longer active prison sentence.

“Our thoughts remain with the family of Kortney Summer Atkins as they continue to grieve their tremendous loss,” Williams said in the release.

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