Speeding, wrong-way car, four arrests at Hillside High homecoming parade

Parade-goers in Durham were forced to rush out of the way of a speeding wrong-way driver, as a car plowed down Fayetteville Street, going the wrong way into the Hillside High School homecoming parade.

Cellphone video captured the alarming moment. In the video, people were heard screaming to get out of the way as the driver speeds past along Fayetteville Street.

“I just remember hearing someone scream, ‘move, move, move!’ said Durham City Councilman Leonardo Williams, who was walking along the parade's path. “We looked up, and it was a car coming toward us, at least 60 to 70 mph.”

Williams said the car barely missed him – and children from R.N. Harris Elementary School, who were marching in the parade.

Cassey Bailey, mother of a Southern High School ninth grader, said she was in "mom mode," filming her daughter, when she captured video of that car speeding by.

"Honestly, the car, the vehicle was inches away from hitting her so it really placed her life as well as her other dancers' lives and other band members, just everyone – the pedestrians, the public, everybody – in danger," Bailey said.

Her daughter Taliyah Rogers said she felt a rush of wind as the car passed. "It just, like, put me in shock for a moment. I didn't know what to do," she said.

North Carolina Central University Police arrested Jerrie Amir Brooks, 23, on charges of reckless driving, assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon and fleeing to elude arrest. They claim he drove his black Mustang "at a high rate of speed through a heavy crowded street during a parade."

Mina Forte, president of the national alumni association of Hillside High School, told WRAL News that even in the face of danger posed by the car, people looked out for each other.

Williams said the incident made him think of Hailey Brooks, who died after a truck carrying a parade float hit her during the Raleigh Christmas Parade in 2022. He said he was afraid for a moment that Durham may have a similar tragedy.

Fortunately, there were no reports of any injuries at the homecoming parade.

"We thought someone was hit, but it was actually a backfire from the car," Williams said.

State representative Zack Hawkins said he plans on talking to his colleagues about how the state can make parades safer.

"How do we secure the perimeter?" Hawkins asked. "Should we have bookends on both ends of the street, especially where the driver came from? We are making sure we are getting ahead of dangerous situations."

Williams said he hopes the near-miss makes organizers and parade-goers more vigilant in the future.

“Hopefully, we’ve learned and are going to learn from this today and better secure the parade for NCCU’s homecoming, which is going to be even more people,” Williams said. That event, North Carolina Central University's Ultimate Homecoming Parade, is scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023.

Forte said, "We had officers at every corner, from the beginning of the parade to the end. We secured more officers this year. We paid thousands of dollars."

She said they will have even more next year if that's what it takes to keep people safe.

"It's a very exciting time for Hillside and our alumni," Forte said. "It's just unfortunate that someone would do something like that."

Three more arrests at Hillside High School homecoming parade

Durham police detained two 19-year-olds who were trying to ride dirt bikes onto the parade route. Marcus Devon Wilder Jr. and Curtis Eugene Calloway Jr. face charges of reckless driving and operating a motor vehicle without registration, insurance or inspection.

Kearra Louisa Vickers, 41, was also arrested on an outstanding felony warrant for fraud charges. She's charged with carrying a concealed gun, and operating a motor with expired registration and inspection.