Man get prison for fatal DWI wreck on Fort Liberty road; his second fatal wreck since 2019

An Aberdeen man was sentenced to eight years in federal prison last week after pleading guilty in a fatal drunken-driving wreck in 2023 on a Fort Liberty-owned road, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.

Joel Newton Brewer, 34, of Aberdeen, was sentenced Wednesday to 96 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, the release said. In exchange for the plea, charges of driving while impaired, driving on a suspended license and careless-and-reckless driving were dismissed, the court record shows. Brewer pleaded guilty to the charge in November.

According to a violation notice issued by military police, on Jan. 3, 2023, Brewer was speeding west on the Fort Liberty-owned Plank Road when he crossed the center line about 9:45 p.m. and struck an eastbound vehicle. Brewer's vehicle overturned and the female driver of the other vehicle was ejected. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The woman's infant child sustained life-threatening injuries but survived, according to court documents. Their names were not released.

It was estimated that at the time of the wreck, Brewer was traveling 89 mph in a 55-mph speed zone and his blood-alcohol concentration was said to be .15, nearly double the legal limit for driving. The violation notice reports he was also driving on a suspended license.

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Second fatal wreck

This was the second fatal head-on collision in which Brewer was the at-fault driver, court records show.

On June 8, 2019, Brewer was driving a 1998 Chevy Blazer south on Calloway Road in Raeford when he crossed the center line about 6:30 p.m. and struck a northbound 1992 Ford Ranger driven by Aurthy Eugene Daniel Sr., 62, of Aberdeen, according to the State Highway Patrol accident report. Daniel was pronounced dead at the hospital. Brewer and a passenger sustained minor injuries.

A sentencing memorandum that was part of the federal record for the 2023 wreck notes that the 2019 accident happened when Brewer swerved to avoid a deer. He pleaded guilty in the state case to a charge of misdemeanor death by vehicle. The sentence in that case was not immediately available.

The memorandum goes on to state that Brewer struggled with drugs and alcohol as a result of his upbringing and the accident happened as he was driving home from AutoZone where he'd gone to get a car part for his girlfriend.

"He admits that he was under the influence... Joel shows immense remorse for the death he caused by his actions noting, 'I hate to think of that child growing up without their mother,'" the memorandum states.

It goes on to state that because of the injuries he sustained in the wreck, he grew a dependency on pain medication. Then, when the prescription medication ran out, he turned to street drugs, overdosing on fentanyl in March 2023.

"Joel says it was the wake up call he needed to address his substance use seriously for the first time in his life," the memo states.

Three months later, it said, he entered a 28-day drug treatment program, then began working 12-step programs, and since, the drug tests he was required to take while awaiting trial have been negative.

"He has accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct. Joel is remorseful for his actions and knows that he needs to address his addiction and live a good life to honor the woman that lost her life," the memo said.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com. F.T. Norton contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Man gets federal prison for DWI wreck on Fort Liberty road