Impaired driving suspect from Ireland extradited in NC deaths of his brother & parents
An impaired driving suspect from Ireland was extradited from France this month to face charges in a North Carolina crash that killed his 12-year-old brother and their parents, federal prosecutors said Friday.
Solomon Sincler Gheorghe, 20, was in the Cabarrus County jail on Saturday on an immigration detainer and $1 million secured bond, court and jail records showed.
Sheriff’s investigators issued warrants for Gheorghe’s arrest a week after the September 2023 crash, according to the warrants filed in Cabarrus County Criminal Superior Court.
Gheorghe was charged with felony death by vehicle and felony serious injury by vehicle in the multi-car crash that killed Leonidas Gheorghe, 12, their mother, Adela Gheorghe, 47, and father, Nicolae Gheorghe, 49, court records show.
Gheorghe was jailed on March 14 and faces a court hearing Thursday, according to court documents.
Deputies: Van hit oncoming traffic
The family lived in the Stanly County town of Norwood, public records show.
“Gheorghe is alleged to have been impaired by alcohol and drugs” when he allegedly caused the crash on Highway 24/27 in Midland, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release Friday.
The crash was about 20 miles east of Charlotte.
The family was returning home around 8 a.m. Sept. 20, 2023, when Solomon Gheorghe is accused of swerving their van into oncoming traffic near Bethel School Road, according to a Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office statement at the time.
Paramedics airlifted Solomon Gheorghe, who was initially pinned inside, to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Uptown Charlotte with life-threatening injuries, deputies said.
This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 3:40 PM with the headline "Impaired driving suspect from Ireland extradited in NC deaths of his brother & parents."