Man charged after Asheville wreck that killed his mother

ASHEVILLE – An Arden man is behind bars after police say he was driving impaired in an accident that killed his mother.

David Michael Morrow, 60, of 300 Long Shoals Road, is charged with aggravated felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired and driving with a revoked license, according to arrest warrants and the Buncombe County district attorney's office.

His mother, Martha Sue Morrow, 81, of 23 River Glen Drive, Arden, died after the wreck, which happened at 7:45 p.m. Friday on Old Shoals Road at the intersection of Glenn Bridge Road, according to warrants.

Martha Morrow was a passenger in a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am driven by her son, according to warrants. She was transported to Mission Hospital with internal injuries and a broken back and died Friday night, according to warrants.

Asheville police officer Jonathan Derrick, in a search warrant application filed to search the Pontiac, wrote in his narrative, "David Morrow disregarded a stop sign, causing a collision with another vehicle within the intersection."

Investigators obtained the warrant to review information on the vehicle's electronic data recorder "because it will contain information about the vehicle prior to the collision which will aid in the investigation," Derrick wrote.

Morrow initially was charged with felony serious injury by vehicle, but Buncombe prosecutors amended the charge to aggravated felony death by vehicle after Martha Morrow's death.

The charge was elevated to an aggravated level because Morrow has a prior DWI conviction within the past seven years, senior assistant district attorney Rodney Hasty said.

Morrow is being held at the Buncombe County Detention Facility under a $20,000 secured bond.

He made his first appearance in Buncombe County District Court on Monday morning.