Man charged with murder for street racing crash in Gastonia

Police in Gastonia have arrested a man who they say was involved in a street race that left a 36-year-old woman dead last month on Hoffman Road.

According to the Gastonia Police Department, investigators arrested 38-year-old Raterrio Titian Sheppard on Wednesday.

Police said Thursday that Sheppard was driving a Dodge Charger on Hoffman Road and was racing another car around 8 p.m. on March 28. The other car was driven by Porscha Mason, and it hit a Toyota Highlander with three people inside.

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Mason was killed in the crash, and two people in the Highlander were critically hurt. The two victims are still in the hospital and badly hurt as of Thursday, police said.

A police spokesperson told Channel 9 that Mason and Sheppard knew each other.

Channel 9 spoke with witnesses after the crash, and one neighbor said the force of the impact rocked his brick house. Bystanders rushed to the scene to help extinguish flames and rescue people trapped inside the cars.

Sheppard is facing charges of second-degree murder, felony hit and run causing serious injury, engaging in a speed competition, careless and reckless driving, and no operator’s license.

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