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LAWNDALE, NC – “I haven’t been hit that hard in a long time,” says Richard Surratt.
For Surratt, it’s tough to look across the street knowing his cousin and neighbor Dorman Pompey is gone. “Cause we can look out the window and see Dorman. If I didn’t see him out the window everyday, I could hear him,” he says.
Saturday, Pompey and his wife Frances, both 55, were killed in a wreck near the center of Uptown Shelby. Their 12-year-old grandson, Shiheem, was thrown from the car. Family members say he is doing better and is expected to recover.
Demetrist Roberts faces multiple charges including two counts of second-degree murder and driving under the influence. Roberts was being chased by a Shelby Police Officer after refusing to stop for speeding. That officer gave up the pursuit as they neared the Uptown area.
“It could have been double-digit people gotten killed up there once the cars got going (every which way),” Surratt says.
Surratt and neighbor Charles Kee say the chase shouldn’t have been allowed anywhere near such a busy area. “I know you don’t look for the drunk man to stop, so the police have to have some arrangements, in my estimation, that would limit the danger to people on the sidewalk and going under the lights,” Kee says.
Family members say Dorman Pompey had been ill in recent months, diagnosed with leukemia about a year ago. His wife Frances, worked at the hospital in Shelby.
