Family's cars collide near Seaboard, killing mother, son

Troopers said Tami Mason, 37, was driving east on N.C. Highway 186, just outside Seaboard, with her 13-year-old son in the front seat and her 16-year-old son and 16-year-old nephew in the back. She was behind a car that was carrying her husband and 19-year-old nephew, Kenny Graham Jr., who was driving. 

Mason was in a passing zone and tried to drive by Graham, troopers said. Graham then started to turn left into a driveway, and the two cars crashed, sending Mason's car into a tree, killing her and her son Tavion Mason.

Tami Mason's brother, Reggie Barber, said he saw the crash from a nearby home. He rushed over to see if he could help, he said, but it was too late.

"I ran down there and tried to pull the top off of them, but there wasn't anything I could do," he said. "I knew at that moment that my sister and nephew were gone."

Barber said his sister's car and the one carrying her nephew and husband were not headed to the same location, and he believes Graham did not know his aunt was behind him.

Tami Mason's husband wrote the names of his family on the tree.

"I can see that accident just happening again, and I wish there was something I could have done about it," Barber said. "I didn't have (any) sleep since that happened."

Troopers say alcohol and speed were not factors in the crash, though the investigation was continuing and charges were pending. The other four family members in the crash did not have life-threatening injuries.