With heavy hearts, we come together in remembrance and prayer following a tragic double fatality crash in Sampson County that claimed the lives of Christopher Leonardo Avila Gomez, 18, of Clinton, North Carolina, and Isabel Marie Hepworth, 19, of Faison, North Carolina, while also involving Timothy Andre Stedman, 45, of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, and investigated by North Carolina Highway Patrol Trooper J. N. Bonhomme.
According to a North Carolina Highway Patrol press release, the crash occurred at approximately 10:42 a.m. on NC Highway 24, about 1.9 miles east of Clinton. Trooper Bonhomme’s investigation revealed a devastating sequence of events that unfolded in a matter of seconds.
A gray 2015 Honda Accord was traveling westbound on NC24 and attempted to pass a Toyota truck. During the maneuver, the Honda traveled off the left side of the roadway, then re-entered the road out of control. The vehicle crossed into the eastbound lane and collided head-on with a 2025 International semi-truck pulling an unloaded lowboy trailer. The impact was catastrophic. The Honda was forced off the roadway and came to rest in the north ditch, while the tractor-trailer stopped in the middle of NC24, facing east.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, Timothy Andre Stedman, was not injured in the collision. Tragically, the driver and passenger of the Honda were killed instantly. Christopher Leonardo Avila Gomez, just 18 years old, and Isabel Marie Hepworth, only 19, lost their lives in a moment that forever changed their families and community.
Christopher and Isabel were more than names in a report—they were young lives filled with promise, love, and hope for the future. Their sudden passing has left an unfillable void in the hearts of those who knew them. Families now face unimaginable grief, friends mourn the loss of laughter and shared dreams, and a community stands united in sorrow.
We ask everyone to please keep the Avila Gomez family, the Hepworth family, and all those affected in your prayers. May strength surround them, comfort find them in their darkest moments, and peace gently carry them through the days ahead.
Rest in eternal peace, Christopher Leonardo Avila Gomez and Isabel Marie Hepworth. You are loved, remembered, and will never be forgotten.
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