NC firefighter killed, another injured in car crash

Michael Perry, 24, died from the accident, and his passenger, Scott Lassiter, 21, who is also a firefighter, is in the hospital with serious injuries

June 30, 2015 08:58 AM

News & Record

BURLINGTON, N.C. — The Burlington Fire Department is reeling from the death of one of its firefighters, while another is in critical condition, following a Sunday car wreck.

Michael Braxton Perry, 24, of Deep Creek Church Road in Burlington, was killed in a crash on McCray Road about 10 p.m. Sunday, said Sgt. Michael McLamb with the Highway Patrol. Perry’s passenger, Timothy Scott Lassiter Jr., 21, of Graham, was injured. Both were employed with the Burlington Fire Department, said Deputy Chief Michael Willets.

Perry was driving a 1968 Chevy on McCray Road, about a half-mile from Fleming-Graham Road when he ran off the road on the right near a curve, over corrected, went off the road on the left and struck a tree and a guide wire before hitting a parked semi-trailer, McLamb said. Neither man was ejected from the vehicle. It’s unclear if the men wore seatbelts.

McLamb said speed was a factor, though how fast Perry was driving is still being determined.

Perry was taken to Alamance Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. Lassiter was taken to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. According to the Burlington Fire Department, he is in critical but stable condition.

Funeral arrangements for Perry are still being finalized.

Willets said Perry was a firefighter with the Burlington Fire Department since March 2014, while Lassiter has only been with the department since about March.

He said the Chapel Hill and Carrboro fire departments have offered assistance to Lassiter and his family while he’s at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, and the Burlington Fire Department is doing the same for Perry’s family.

Willets said Perry will be missed.

“Firefighter Perry was of high character, he had positive energy,” Willets said. “He had a wonderful future ahead of him.”