Authorities continue to search for clues to fatal accident
by Staff report
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Police on Monday visited Julie Miller’s hometown, hoping to try to find some clues that lead to the recent wreck that killed two people and injured a Maxton Man.

Miller is accused of causing the fatal wreck after driving her car into Pembroke at a speed in excess of 100 mph.

She is currently jailed under a under $1.25 million bond. She faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

Pembroke Police Chief Dwayne Hunt said investigators want to know why the retired Air Force major and mother of two young children was in Pembroke on June 12 when her Saturn hit railroad tracks, became airborne and struck two Harley-Davidson motorcycles on Third Street.

Marie D. Locklear, 49, of Pembroke, and Virginia Locklear, 37, of Lumberton, were killed instantly, and Frederick Locklear of Maxton was seriously injured. He was treated at Duke University Medical Center and has since been released.

Hunt said there were no maps, notes or luggage inside the vehicle that might have provided clues as to why Miller was in Pembroke. He said police are not aware of any friends or relatives she has in the area. Mount Pleasant is about a four-hour drive away.

Hunt said he has spoken with Miller only once.

“We spoke to her at the hospital. She knew nothing about the crash,” Hunt said. “Most people would be like ‘Oh my God’ but she was just calm.”

According to court records, Miller spoke with Pembroke Detective Sebastian Veneziano at Southeastern Regional Medical Center on Saturday morning, shortly after the accident. Veneziano said she appeared confused and didn’t know the day of the week. The records quoted her as saying “things got blurry, hazy and misting.”

A photograph taken of Miller shortly after the accident shows her smiling, which has only added to the mystery.

Hunt said the only reference to any mental distress was the fact that Miller said she was “going through a messy divorce.”

“It’s just baffling,” Hunt said. “That is why this is all so confusing.”

Hunt said investigators found three prescription pill bottles inside Miller’s car, but do not believe that she consumed drugs before the crash.

“Two of the bottles were labeled for her children and contained a drug to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder,” Hunt said.

A third bottle of Meprozine — a moderate pain reliever — that had been prescribed to Miller was empty, he said.

A toxicology report conducted at Southeastern Regional Medical Center determined she was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol. But a blood sample has been sent to the crime lab in Raleigh for “further, extensive” testing, Hunt said. Lab results are expected this week.

On Wednesday, the state Highway Patrol and Pembroke police re-created the accident.

“We got a lot of good data,” Hunt said of the re-enactment. “It really was amazing how it all came together.”

He said new information was gained, but declined to release it to the public.

“She didn’t apply the brakes,” Hunt said. “It doesn’t appear that she tried to stop quickly at all. There were no skid marks.”

Hunt hopes to eventually find some pieces to the puzzle.

“This is a mind-boggling case,” said Hunt. “But I do believe that we will get some answers when we get down to Mount Pleasant.”

On Friday night, friends and relatives of both Locklear women gathered for a memorial near the site of the accident.
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