The Charlotte Observer, N&O win national awards for “Death in the Fast Lane” reporting
The Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer have won two national awards for “Death in the Fast Lane,” the 2021 investigation that showed how extreme speeding became rampant on North Carolina highways — and why it has claimed hundreds of lives.
The series won first place for investigative reporting in the National Headliner Awards, in the category of newspapers not in the top 20 media markets.
It also won second place in the Collier Prize for State Government Accountability. First place went to the Miami Herald and ProPublica for their investigation into a Florida program created by the state legislature to protect obstetricians from lawsuits.
The investigation by the Observer and News and Observer showed how the state of North Carolina has allowed extreme speeding — with drivers flying 20, 30, even 50 mph over the speed limit — to become widespread.
Enforcement was spotty, particularly during the pandemic, when some officers were told to stop speeders only in the most extreme cases. The state’s overwhelmed courts, meanwhile, let speeders off easy. As a result, many in North Carolina are able to drive at extreme speeds and escape punishment. Thousands of drivers do it again and again.
The consequences have been deadly. The stories showed how extreme speeding claimed the lives of more than 1,800 people in the state over the previous five years, playing an even bigger role in the highway carnage than alcohol.
The newspapers also reported on the people whose lives were cut short. One was Liam Lagunas, a 6-year-old boy killed on June 26, 2021 while he and his father were on their way home from getting ice cream in Gaston County. One of two cars in a 100-mph street race lost control, authorities say, and plowed head-on into the Nissan Altima carrying Liam and his dad.
The driver of the other car, Donnie Ray Cobb, had a long history of getting speeding charges reduced and dismissed.
The stories were reported and written by investigative reporter Ames Alexander, data reporter Gavin Off, database editor David Raynor and transportation reporter Richard Stradling. The articles were edited by Gary Dotson, Cathy Clabby and Adam Bell. Visual journalists Jeff Siner, Khadejeh Nikouyeh, Jessica Koscielniak and Casey Toth shot the photos and videos.
The Collier Prize, overseen by the University of Florida College or Journalism and Communication, is one of the largest journalism prizes in the nation and is designed to encourage coverage of state government.
The National Headliner, founded in 1934, is one of the nation’s oldest and largest journalism contests.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 10:48 AM.