Speaker Moore and Rep Willis in car accident, ‘rammed from behind several times’ | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal. The author of this post is Alex Baltzegar.

    North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore, R-Cleveland, and Rep. David Willis, R-Union, were involved in a car accident around 9:30 P.M. on Thursday where they were "rammed from behind several times," according to Demi Dowdy, a spokesperson for Moore.

    Moore and Willis were visiting Wilson, North Carolina, for a workforce event at Wilson Community College. They also visited Whirligig Park and attended a campaign reception for Rep. Ken Fontenot, R-Wilson. Moore and Willis were being driven back to Raleigh by a police officer.

    "I've talked to a couple of police officers since then, and that hit at that speed could make the car spin out and flip over, all kinds of things," said Moore. "So thank God we're all okay."

    Moore does not think he was specifically targeted. "We have no reason at all to think that he knew who I was, or who any of us were, or even that the vehicle was a law enforcement vehicle," said Moore.

    The driver is not currently being held, according to Moore. "I'm told that he is out of jail right now on unsecured bond," Moore said.

    The driver was arrested and charged with a DWI, per Axios Raleigh's Lucille Sherman.

    "When he hit it, he hit it really hard," said Moore, referring to the driver hitting his car from behind. "It was jolted, but it also did a little squirrely. It wasn't just a straight hit that moved [us] forward. It got a little squirrely."

    The driver's name is James Matthew Brogden, of Goldsboro. Brogden was arrested and charged with the following misdemeanors: driving while impaired, resisting a public officer, and injury to personal property, along with other charges, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman told Sherman.

    On Friday morning, Brogden was going through the booking process at Wake County Detention Center, Freeman said. Dowdy confirmed that nobody in the car was seriously injured. "The circumstances are under investigation," Dowdy said.

    Governor Roy Cooper tweeted Friday morning that he had talked with Moore.

    Brogden has a previous history of criminal conduct, according to the Goldsboro News-Argus:

    "According to an incident report, deputies told Brogden to turn around and put his hands behind his back, and when they approached him to handcuff him he whipped around and grabbed a deputy by the throat and began choking him.

    Another deputy helping serve the warrant immediately pulled Brogden off the other deputy, but Brogden then began assaulting the other deputy.

    This continued until one of the deputies drew their taser, at which point Brogden immediately surrendered, the report said."

    Brogden was charged with resisting a direct order and assault on a law enforcement officer, and was put in jail under a $12,500 secured bond.

    This story was updated at on February 24, 2023 at 12:39 P.M.