GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Special agents with North Carolina’s Alcohol Law Enforcement Branch have charged a Guilford County man with providing alcohol to teens before they crashed a truck, according to a news release from the State Bureau of Investigation.
Martin Southard III, of Summerfield, is charged with three counts of aiding and abetting underage individuals in the purchase of alcohol.
Troopers with Highway Patrol asked for ALE’s help when they suspected alcohol was a factor at an accident on July 24 involving two teens.
Dylan McKoin, 17, of Colfax, was driving a 2002 Dodge Dakota truck and Austin McClinton, 16, of Stokesdale, was a passenger when the truck ran off the road and struck multiple trees.
McKoin and McClinton were both taken from the scene to the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center emergency room and later transferred to the trauma ICU for further care.
During the course of the investigation, special agents were led to Southard’s home in Summerfield. Agents learned the home was frequently used as a location for underage drinking, and McKoin and McClinton had consumed alcoholic beverages there on the night of the collision, the release said.
Special agents were able to determine Southard had purchased the alcoholic beverages for McKoin, McClinton and another teen who was not involved in the collision, the release said.
Southard is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 10 in Guilford County.