A special prosecutor called in to investigate a single-car crash involving Onslow County Sheriff, Hans Miller, will not be filing criminal charges in the case.
On February 9, 2021, Sheriff Hans Miller was driving a county-issued vehicle when he hit a fire hydrant at an intersection in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Miller said he was heading to a meeting when his window fogged up and limited his visibility.
A door on the vehicle was damaged with a scratch and a small hole. Miller did not call 911 to report the accident. Instead, he filed an internal report for his office the next day. Jacksonville Police Department conducted an investigation and turned their findings over to Cumberland County Prosecutor Billy West, who had been called in as a special prosecutor by Onslow County District Attorney Earnie Lee.
West concluded his investigation, noting that Miller didn’t need to call the local police to the scene to report the accident.
It was reasonable for Sheriff Miller to conclude that this incident was not a reportable crash under North Carolina law and that it was not necessary to call the Jacksonville Police Department to the scene of this incident, West said in a statement Friday.
