Staff report

RENNERT — A St. Pauls teenager was killed Tuesday when the car he was a passenger in left Great Marsh Church Road near Rennert and slammed into a tree, according to the state Highway Patrol. Two other people were injured in the accident.

Ediberto Velasquez-Morales, 18, of 732 Dogwood St., was killed at about 7 a.m. when he was ejected from the 2004 Chevrolet sedan, according to a report by Trooper J.A. Jones Jr. The report said Velasquez-Morales was not using a seat belt.

Celso Epifanio Perez-Mendez, 30, of the 100 block of Myrtle Street, St. Pauls, was driving the vehicle when it ran off the road to the right, he over-corrected, it exited the roadway to the right again, struck a ditch and then crashed into the tree, according to the report.

Perez-Mendez and another passenger, Abraham Rosendo-Alvarado, 36, of the 100 block of Myrtle Street, who were both wearing a seat belt, were taken to Southeastern Regional Medical Center, according to the report. Their conditions were unavailable.

Perez-Mendez is charged with misdemeanor death by vehicle, failure to maintain lane control, and not having an operator’s license. He was driving 55 mph in the in the 55-mph zone, according to the report.