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Crash controversy overshadows a family’s loss
Joe Storie was killed Oct. 5, 2011.
On Oct. 5, 2011 the traffic light at one of the busiest intersections in Dare County malfunctioned. The light went into a special mode, flashing yellow on the “bypass” and red on Colington.
Since that day, much has happened.
The driver of the car that ended Joe Storie’s life and injured two other occupants was charged with driving while impaired, felony death by vehicle and two counts of serious injury by vehicle.
Luis Rodriguez, 44, fled once, was returned to Dare County, fled a second time, and remains at large.
Meanwhile, a debate over the town’s responsibility to police the intersection after the lights malfunctioned eventually led to lower speed limits.
For the Storie family, none of those issues is more important than the fact that they lost a beloved relative and that a driver alleged to have been drunk was responsible.
Lost in all of this discussion was a more important story: Who was Joe Storie?
As it turns out, he was a special person and one who, like many of our visitors, loved the place we call home.
The October visit was a family vacation. Joe, who was 51 when he died, and other family members came down in May to be a part of the official opening of Jennette’s Pier, a seven-hour drive for family members, who mostly reside in Lenoir, N.C.
They planned to return to Dare in October, when the fishing picked up. Two of Joe’s sisters, his wife, one of his sister’s boyfriends, an uncle and his wife made the October trip to the Outer Banks.
The men and one sister went fishing on the Crystal Dawn; the rest went shopping.
As Chris Storie, one of the sisters told us, “After fishing, we all decided to go to Mama Kwans because we love to eat there.”
Chris, Joe, his wife Alicia and Paul Thomas, the driver, were on their way to Kwan’s about 7:30 p.m. when the collision occurred.
Sister Denise says about her brother: “Joe was a simple man with a generous soul He was a person who always made you feel comfortable and welcome — there was always room for one more!”
Ironically, the day before the collision, Joe had gone through the Colington intersection and had commented, “how sad it was that four crosses were there,” she said.
“Joe Storie is the best Dad, son, brother, husband, uncle, and friend that you can ever have. He never put himself before anyone. Out of seven kids, he was the middle child and he was always the one we went to when we needed advice, help with something, or just to hang out and have fun with. Our Mom was the head of our family and Joe was the protector.”
Joe left a wife, Alicia, three sons, Matthew, Shane and Blake, one of whom is still a minor, two brothers and four sisters.
He was a brick mason for 30 years. Chris tells us a story about his character:
“He was part owner of Norris and Storie Construction. When you see burly construction guys sobbing their eyes out, you know someone is missed. I saw him go many weeks on just $100 so he and his partner could pay their guys.”
Joe Storie with his mother, an avid Dallas Cowboys fan.
“Joe loved fishing. Trout, surf, deep sea. You name it, he loved it. We were at Jeanette’s Pier opening day last year. We had gone out on the Crystal Dawn fishing the day we lost our precious Joe,” Chris said.
He coached Optimist football teams for two of his sons and a nephew, played football for eight years of school himself and also wrestled. He planted a huge garden each year and shared the harvest with all he knew.
Chris tells us he once met a stranger, an elderly man in Walmart. The next day Joe took him fishing and they became fast friends over the course of many years.
Denise adds more detail to the man Joe was. Here is what she said in its entirety:
“From an early age he began collecting coins. He was always catching a ride to a flea market looking for coins and would ask to see your change in case there was a coin you needed to save. I work in a high school and used the word numismatist one day, which means a collector of coins. I texted Joe and said, ‘Did you know you are a numismatist?’ He replied, ‘Yes, I have known that for a long time!’
“I was impressed because I did not realize there was a name other than coin collector for his hobby. Over the years my children and I have received some of his special coins for gifts, which we now cherish even more.
“Joe loved the outdoors and Appalachian football. My sons went to college at Appalachian, and our family soon came to enjoy the football games.
“We would tailgate before the games. Joe always had his grill in the back of the truck and a big pot of chili ready.
“Anyone coming by was always welcome to eat with him. If we could not make the games we got together at one of our houses and watched them on TV.
“We spent a lot of time outdoors with him. Joe and I both had pontoons and spent endless days on Lake James together and with the other siblings when they could come.
“Our Mom hated the water, but she would even come on occasion just to be with Joe.
“We also enjoyed motorcycle riding and camping. He loved getting up and cooking a big breakfast.
“Our families began getting a huge cabin in the mountains during Thanksgiving and as many of us could go would make it. Joe loved having us all together and cooking, playing cards, fishing, and making beef jerky.
“Once I forgot to take jeans and he heard me say that. Needless to say he made a Walmart run. After he had been back awhile, I went to my room and there laid a bag with a pair of jeans in it. That is just the way he was. Our last Thanksgiving together he had a ham on the grill and a turkey in the oven.
“He was not much of a singer, but my boys talked him into singing a Boy George karaoke song that last Thanksgiving and he promised to do a Michael Jackson the next year — but then that year never came.
“One thing Joe did not like was the Dallas Cowboys football team, but it was our Mom’s favorite team. She had just had a hip replacement and the Cowboys were going to play the Panthers in Charlotte. She wanted to go, so Joe got some tickets and took her with wheelchair in tow. She had a fabulous time. He was a Redskin fan so you can only imagine the times we had when Cowboys played the Redskins!
“I never met a soul that said anything negative about Joe. There was just something special about him. Some people have that gift and he was one of them.
“My youngest son was able to speak at the funeral. He summed it up by reciting something my new daughter-in-law had said: ‘He was the best Storie ever told.’ ”
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Obx-er says:
Thank you for publishing this story. Any time I feel like grumbling about colington rd speed limit at 35mph or the lowering of the by-pass, I remember this family and their loss – and the grumbles subside. May they continue to find peace & know the people of the OBX are with them in spirit
Justme says:
That is just BEAUTIFUL .. thank you for sharing so sorry for the familys loss if a wonderful soul.
KHer says:
Thanks.
tam says:
i just want peace for matt and shane his two sons.i aiso want justice for joe.he did not deserve to die the way he did.this has change my life so completley ill never get over it he was way to young.he want beat the weddings or share our grandbabies i cry everyday and if i could take his place i would.please pray for my kids they really need it.thank you so much tammy.
Kevin Cherry says:
As the owner of Mama Kwan’s I was very sorry when I heard of Joe Storie’s tragedy and the loss to his family.
Mr. Storie’s sister came into our restaurant recently and told me what had happened and that they were on their way for dinner when this terrible thing happened. She is a very gracious lady who only wanted to let me know how much Joe liked our place and to spend a little time at Mama’s.
My heart and prayers go out to his family.
Thank you Outer Banks Voice and Russ Lay for putting a face to the name Joe Storie. I am sorry for not having met such a great person.
vanative says:
…please do a follow-up story on why the judge released him a second time!…me thinks that there is more to the story than meets the eye………
Chris says:
I regret that a lot of the caring comments were lost. It really comforts me and my family to know that the OBX community truly cares. This is the reason my family loves it there so much! Thank you for the kind words.
Russ Lay says:
Van–it’s coming.
Lee says:
A heart-wrenching story, and a good man lost too soon. It seems his sons continue his legacy, and prayers to all his family & friends as they continue to go forward with their lives.
gangneighbors says:
How about some background on the fugitive…..that way we can be on the lookout, thought I would imagine he is long gone…….excellent story and I am in awe of this family’s spirit….
Becky Broome says:
What a wonderful story. I remember when I saw the headlines about his tragic accident and I was just heart broken. I lost my mom and stepdad in a car accident in 2005- so I feel the family’s painful heartache. I pray for each and every mourning heart in that family and pray that God will bring justice to the driver that was responsible. Thanks for printing a beautiful story. Even though I didnt know him, the story introduced me to a kind hearted, wonderful person. May God bless and watch over the Storie family and thanks again OBX Voice for printing a story about such a great person.
Denise says:
Russ and the Outer Banks Voice- Thank you so much for sharing our story. The article and heartfelt comments from the OBX community are very comforting to our family. We have been fortunate to visit and meet some of the people of this amazing community and hope to meet even more of you in the near future. Now all we can do is pray and continue to search for answers to many unanswered questions and find the person who was responsible for this tragedy and make sure he will be held accountable.
kdhneighbor says:
This is a very moving article. What a special person. I don’t think anyone who heard about or witnessed this accident could ever forget the name Joe Storie or His story.
Jeanne says:
Thank you, Outer Banks Voice, for writing this article about Joe. I am one of Joe’s sisters. I both cried and smiled while reading this article, a memorial to Joe. Thanks to the citizens of the Outer Banks for all the nice comments. The comments really touched my heart.
All of my life many of Joe’s friends from school could not remember my name so they just called me “Joe Storie’s little sister”. I was 4 years younger than Joe and Chris is 6 years younger (BTW, Chris was in the crash also and is lucky to be alive). I never really paid that much attention to being called “Joe Storie’s little sister” until after his death. In March of this year (5 months after the tragedy), I ran into one of Joe’s classmates from high school. I remembered Mike and called him by name but he looked at me and said, “Oh, you are one of Joe’s younger sisters. I am so sorry to hear about what happened to Joe”. When Mike called me “one of Joe’s little sisters”, I began to cry. I was always proud to known as “Joe’s sister” and I did not care if any of Joe’s friends remembered my name or not. Being “Joe’s little sister” was fine with me. Really that’s a honor to me. Mike made me realize that even with Joe being in Heaven with our Mom (whom we lost 2 years earlier), Chris and I will always be known as “Joe’s little sisters” and the two older sisters (Becky and Denise), as “Joe’s big sisters”. Joe was a man, a brother, a son, and a father that we all are still proud of. Joe will never get to see his 3 sons get married one day. He will never get to hold his own grandchildren, as Becky, Steve, and I have already experienced. It breaks my heart because Joe loved kids and they loved him. Joe always had a way with children and my 6 grandchildren loved their “Uncle Joe”. We went fishing and camping with “Uncle Joe”, and Joe would have stuffed the entire family into his camper because, as Denise pointed out in the article, “there was always room for one more”.
Joe was a family man and it showed. He always put others first. One family memory that has really stood out in my mind is the time Joe made 2 trips in one night to get my daughter to the hospital when she was in labor with her 1st child. It was snowing like crazy on the night of Jan. 18th, 2002. My daughter and her husband lived 17 miles away and they lived down a long dirt road. With so much snow on the ground and not having a 4 wheel-drive, neither my son-in-law or myself, could get Jessie (my daughter) to the hospital without getting stuck in the snow. I spoke to Jessie on the phone that evening when the snow first started to fall. I told her that she “better NOT have that baby tonight” but what did she do? She went into labor! Joe had a 4 wheel-drive so I called him. Joe got up and drove the long, slow, hazardous drive to Happy Valley to get Jessie and her husband to the hospital. Joe was excited about his new great nephew so he waited at the hospital for awhile. Good thing he did because Jessie’s contractions were too far apart. The hospital sent her home. After dropping Jessie off at her home, Joe drove back home and went to bed. A little later in the night (now Jan. 19th), Jessie had to call Joe to come back and get her and her husband again. By this time, the roads were getting icy and very slick. I made it to the hospital in my car but I could never have made it to my daughter’s house without getting my car stuck. The doctors tried to send my daughter home again. I told them “NO”! I did not want Joe, Jessie, her husband, or the baby’s lives to be at risk by going back out into that snow storm. We stayed there and in a few short hours, Joe had his new great nephew, Joe was so happy to hold my grandson!
Joe would have made a great grandfather. I know he was looking forward to his own grandchildren one day but that day will never happen now because Luis Rodriguez (has been charged) ran that flashing red light and took Joe’s life. When you see a big, strong, hard working man, like Joe, hold a newborn baby so gently in his arms, tears of happiness in his beautiful blue eyes, and talking “baby talk” to a newborn, it is enough to warm anyone’s heart. I got to see that side of Joe when his own sons were born, when any of us had children, then got to see it again with my grandchildren. I shared my grandkids with Joe. We all spent time with Joe and his sons, time that we will cherish forever. I just wish he could be here to spoil his own future grandchildren like he spoiled mine. Joe is in Heaven but I have made a promise to him. His future grandkids WILL KNOW who Joe was, what a great man he was, and how he would do anything to help anyone, and ESPECIALLY children and the elderly.
I have always heard “the good die young” and in this case, it is definitely the truth. Joe was the middle child, and the best one out of all 7 of us siblings. I already know that Luis Rodriguez does NOT care about what kind of person Joe Storie was, or even care that he killed Joe. If he did care or have any remorse whatsoever, he would have shown up in court and not have fled TWICE! We have told you the truth about our Joe.As for you, the people of the Outer Banks, you guys/gals DO care, and we all thank you from the bottom of our hearts! Joe never had any enemies. He was too busy making FRIENDS! My family and I are still grieving his death here on earth but I bet Mom is happy in Heaven. She’s happy to have her Joe with her. A close friend of mine summed it up and his quote was printed in Joe’s obituary, “Joe Storie was a big man with a big heart”. Thank you again, Russ and staff, and the wonderful people in the OBX.