WARRENTON, N.C. – A 5-year-old boy, an ex-N.C. State football player and a mother of two girls died in a head-on collision in Warrenton on Monday morning, authorities say.
The incident happened around 6:15 a.m. on Martin Luther King Boulevard, said North Carolina State Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Jeff Gordon.
Former N.C. State player Desmond Cornelius Roberts, 26, of Henrico, was driving a 2013 Honda CRV when he crossed the center line, Gordon said in a press release.
Roberts’ SUV, which also had two children as passengers, hit a 2003 Honda Accord head-on, according to Gordon.
Joshua Roberts, 5, of Gaston, who was in the SUV at the time and died in the crash.
Brittany Nicole Silver, 29, of Norlina, was driving the Accord at the time of the collision and she died, Gordon said. Silver was the mother of two young girls, according to her Facebook profile.
Before playing at N.C. State, Roberts played football at Northampton West High School, where he was ranked by Rivals.com as the 11th-best center nationally.
N.C. State head coach Tom O’Brien announced in August 2009 that Roberts, who was a sophomore offensive lineman at the time, was no longer on the team.
Roberts enrolled in 2007 and redshirted. He played in six games in 2008, four from scrimmage and two on special teams only. Roberts was in for a season-high 13 snaps at Maryland.
After N.C. State, Roberts played for two seasons for Fayetteville State University, according their website.
He played for the FSU Broncos for eight games in 2012 and six games in 2011.
Anthony Roberts Jr., 7, was taken to a nearby hospital and then transferred to Duke Hospital.
Both children were properly restrained at the time of the collision. The relationship of the Roberts boys with Desmond Roberts is unknown.
The Highway Patrol said speed and alcohol were not factors in the incident.
The collision is still under investigation.