Driver charged four months after deadly car crash into house

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A mother who waited four months for an arrest in the death of her son told Channel 9 she feels sorry for the family of the man charged, too.

Channel 9 reported back in November when a car hit and killed Rhyne Linker as he stood in the driveway of his Gastonia home. On Friday, Gaston County Reporter Ken Lemon talked to Linker’s mother about the new developments.

Janice Spidel said that her son was killed right outside of her front door. She stepped outside and became a witness to things she can never forget. Now, an arrest eases some pain but brings new concerns.

Spidel told Lemon she feels so close to justice. It’s a feeling she has for the first time since November.

“There were times when we were scared that no justice at all was going to be served,” Spidel said.

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Thursday night, police arrested the suspected driver of that car Josiah Urquihart-Crew.

Prosecutors said he and a passenger were doing a drug deal.

They say Urquihart-Crew drove away erratically and hit Linker as he worked on a friend’s car.

Urquihart-Crew turned himself in Thursday night but refused to identify his passenger. In court, he pleaded with the judge.

“I got two boys,” Urquihart-Crew said.

“My son was killed and justice has to be done,” Spidel said.

Spidel told Lemon that she is also praying for the defendant’s family. She told me two mothers have lost their sons.

“Nobody ever wins in these situations,” Spidel said.

The judge set Urquihart-Crew’s bond at $425,000 for felony hit and run causing death and reckless driving to endanger.

“Justice has to be served, accountability has to happen,” Spidel said. “But at the end of the day, we are all human beings.”

Spidel said she realizes that getting a conviction in this case means she may have to recall that day on the stand. She said she learned the only way to get over emotional pain is to go through it, and she is willing to do that for her son.

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