LUMBERTON — A Lumberton woman has been indicted on manslaughter and child abuse charges related to a Dec. 9 wreck that killed a Pembroke man and seriously injured her own 7-year-old daughter.

Law enforcement officers say Bridgette Black was under the influence of alcohol when the vehicle she was driving struck head-on the one being driven by 39-year-old Glenn Edward Sampson, who was killed. A Robeson County grand jury this week indicted Black on counts of of involuntary manslaughter, felony death by vehicle, intentional child abuse inflicting serious physical injury, and felony serious injury by vehicle.

According to accident reports, Sampson was driving alone in a Nissan passenger car and heading west on N.C. 711 when a Volkswagon being driven by Black drifted left of the center line and struck his vehicle.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol investigated the accident and consuted with Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt. Britt’s office took the case before a grand jury on Monday.

Before the indictment, Black was charged with misdemeanor driving while impaired and reckless driving, according to court records. The felony indictments supersede those charges.

Black and her daughter, Sophie Carter, were taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center immediately after the accident, then flown to Duke Medical Center in Durham. Both suffered extensive injuries and were in intensive care for several weeks. Sampson and Black were wearing seat belts, and the child was in a booster seat in the back of the vehicle.

According to the Public Schools of Robeson County, Black worked as a social worker at Lumberton High School, starting October 2015.

Sampson grew up in Pembroke, and graduated from Purnell Swett High School in 1996 and The University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 2000. He worked in Wilson for BB&T, but traveled home often for weekends. His father, Gilbert Sampson, was a math professor at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke and served as chairman of the Math and Computer Science Department at the university from 1982 to 2002.

Bridgette Black
https://www.robesonian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_black.jpgBridgette Black

By Mike Gellatly

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Reach Mike Gellatly at 910-816-1989 or via Twitter @MikeGellatly