Man charged in Spring Lake fatal wreck Saturday was out on bail in a 2023 slaying

A man, accused of a 2023 murder, crashed into a vehicle, killing one person and injuring another during a high-speed chase on Saturday night while out on bail.

Darren Lyndell Powell, 25, is charged with speeding to elude arrest causing death, reckless driving, speeding, failure to heed light or siren, unsafe passing of a yellow line, failure to wear a seatbelt and failure to stop at a red light, according to court records.

According to State Highway Patrol Sgt. N. Oxendine, Powell was traveling south in an Acura on N.C. 87 in Harnett County at about 11 p.m. when he was spotted by a Highway Patrol officer. Oxendine said Powell was initially clocked at 109 mph, nearly double the speed limit of 55 mph, and was seen passing using the center turn lane.

"The trooper never really caught up to him," Oxendine said. "It was just outside the city limits of Spring Lake, and then he traveled through the city limits; that's where he got into the collision."

After a brief chase, less than a minute after officers observed the speeding vehicle, Powell collided with a Honda driven by Ismael Apolinar-Heredia, 26, of Robeson County, who was turning west into the Walmart Supercenter on 670 Lillington Highway.

Oxendine said the front of Powell's vehicle struck the front headlight of Honda, as Apolinar-Heredia was turning into the Walmart.

"(Powell) went around traffic in the right turning lane and was attempting to go straight and the other vehicle was making a left turn," Oxendine said.

Apolinar-Heredia was taken to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center with serious injuries, and his passenger, Delfina Sanchez-Eusebio, 44, of Robeson County, was killed in the crash.

Powell was taken to UNC Hospitals Chapel Hill in critical condition. He was released from the hospital and had his first appearance in court on Wednesday, court records state. He is being held in the Cumberland County jail on $100,000 bail, according to jail records.

Related: Two jailed Thursday in fatal Cumberland County shooting last week

Murder arrest

Powell and codefendant Hakeem Sincere Jessel Wilson, 25, of Fayetteville, were arrested July 20, 2023, and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Barbara Adair, 59, July 12, 2023.

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office, Adair was shot about 2:45 p.m. as she sat in a vehicle in the 500 block of Mammoth Drive in the Breezy Hill mobile home park off Honeycutt Road.

An arrest warrant states that Powell and Wilson allegedly shot into a home in the 500 block of Mammoth Drive while it was occupied by two men. During the shooting, Adair's vehicle was struck several times, the warrant states.

Adair suffered two gunshot wounds, according to an autopsy report, and was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, court records state. The autopsy report states that Adair's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

The two men inside the home on Mammoth Drive were uninjured.

The Sheriff's Office said Powell posted bail and was placed on electronic monitoring on Oct. 27. Wilson posted bail on Nov. 13, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Man charged in Spring Lake fatal wreck Saturday was out on bail in a 2023 slaying