Lance Martin Herald Senior Staff Writer

Lance Martin | Daily Herald This 2007 Lexus overturned after Richard Neuwirth of Boca Raton, Fla., drove off the road on U.S. Highway 301 outside Halifax. Neuwirth had been reported missing on Monday. Advertisement

ROANOKE RAPIDS - A man who died in a single-vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 301 Tuesday morning was reported missing Monday from Boca Raton, Fla., according to a report from that city's police department.

Around 6:54 p.m., Eileen Neuwirth told the officer her husband Richard, 75, was supposed to drop the family car off at an auto train station in Sanford, Fla., for transport to New Jersey, according to a report filed by Patrolman E.S. Vanhof.

The report indicated that Mr. Neuwirth was an endangered person due to an undisclosed mental illness.

A private detective hired by the man's wife to track her husband's movements reported he did not stop at the train station and instead continued to drive north on Interstate 95. The private detective last reported seeing the man in Jacksonville, Fla.

Although there was no corresponding documentation, Mrs. Neuwirth advised the officer her husband suffered from an undetermined mental illness and that he had not taken his appropriate medication. She stated she intended to have her husband psychologically evaluated once the family returned to New Jersey.

At 10:53 a.m., Tuesday, a supplemental report states the police department received a teletype from the N.C. Highway Patrol saying Mr. Neuwirth died in a single-vehicle accident.

At 11:30 a.m., with the assistance of a pastor, Mrs. Neuwirth was notified of her husband's death.

Trooper J.D. Warren confirmed Tuesday after he began investigating the accident, Mr. Neuwirth was flagged in a “be on the lookout” bulletin as a missing and endangered person suffering from mental illness.

According to Warren, the accident occurred outside Halifax when Mr. Neuwirth, who was driving a 2007 Lexus with 30-day tags in the northbound lane, crossed the center line and struck a culvert. The impact caused the vehicle to become airborne and it landed 70 to 75 feet away from the point of initial impact.

Neuwirth was wearing a seat belt and Warren said there is no reason to suspect alcohol use. It was unclear whether he fell asleep in the 7:45 a.m. accident. Warren said an autopsy will be performed in North Carolina.