High Point Wreck Kills Three

By Holly Strom

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Around midnight on the morning of January 21, Demarco Jackson, of High Point, was riding his bicycle on Main Street when he saw a vehicle pass him at what he described as "between 100 and 150 miles per hour." Seconds later, he heard a crash.

The crash site.
High Point Police Department File Photos

Jose Gonzalez-Deleon, the backseat passenger in the vehicle, is described by a friend who wished to remain unnamed as "one of the best people I've ever known. He was always down to have fun, everyone loved him... I'm still in shock. I never would have expected this to happen."

Gonzalez-Deleon, 29, along with 19-year-old driver Edgar Jehovanni Ramos and 39-year-old front seat passenger Etzel Martinez Cruz, were all ejected from the vehicle upon impact.

Authorities say the bodies were so badly damaged that the victims' families were called in to confirm their identities.

The car involved, a 2003 Audi, was completely "disintegrated. [The police] picked it up in pieces," said High Point Police Capt. Michael Kirk.

Another officer, an Afghanistan veteran, described the scene as looking like it had been hit by a 105mm Howitzer heavy artillery machine.

Using Department of Transportation traffic cameras, police were able to perform time and distance calculations to determine the speed of the vehicle before it crashed: an astounding 106 mph.

Authorities state that accidents of this nature are atypical of the downtown High Point area, where the speed limit is 35 mph. Police are still investigating the cause of the crash, but suspect that alcohol may have played a role. They say they have been able to rule out racing and foul play.

High Point Police Department File Photo

The unoccupied building that the car crashed into is still in good condition; the pole that the the car made contact with sustained minimal damage, and the building is still structurally sound.

Most of the repairs that will take place will pertain to replacing the plate glass windows, which shattered when debris from the car went through them.