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AULANDER – Two accidents turned deadly near here over a stretch of 16 hours.

On Sunday, two-year-old Jasper Ryan Deanes of Millennium was tragically killed at around 5:30 p.m. when he darted out in front of a car on NC 11 Business in Millennium.

First Sgt. Rodney Sawyer of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s District Office in Ahoskie stated the child was attending a birthday party in his honor at the Millennium Volunteer Fire Department. Jasper’s third birthday was Monday, Sept. 21.

Sawyer said a 2008 Chevrolet passenger car driven by 57-year-old Perry Dancy of Aulander was westbound on NC 11 Business.

“At a point prior to reaching the fire department’s property, Mr. Dancy said he saw some children crossing the highway to his left,” Sgt. Sawyer said. “He said he didn’t see the other child (Deanes) entering the road from his right side and that child was struck.”

NCHP Trooper J.G. Williams is still investigating the fatal accident.

Sixteen hours later (9:30 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 21), a single vehicle wreck on NC 561 west of the St. John community claimed the life of a Northampton County man.

NCHP Trooper J.V. Reid’s report showed that Tony Neal Brown, 56, of Gaston was operating a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee eastbound on NC 561. The vehicle traveled off the left side of the road in a curve, struck a ditch, and began to overturn. It then impacted a tree and came to rest in a private driveway in the 1400 block of NC 561.

Brown, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sgt. Sawyer said it’s possible that Brown may have suffered a medical issue prior to the accident.

“We are awaiting a report from the Medical Examiner’s office on the cause of death,” Sawyer stated.

The two deaths increased the number of fatalities to 13 in the NCHP’s Troop A / District II area, which includes Bertie, Gates and Hertford counties. Seven of those fatalities have occurred in Hertford County.