Samara not guilty of charges

A jury acquitted on all charges Friday the man accused in a hit-and-run in relation to the death of UNC alumnus Stephen Gates.

Rabah Samara, 27, was found not guilty of both felonious hit-and-run and misdemeanor hit-and-run in relation to the death of Gates, who served as a reporter for the Tar Heel Sports Network.

Gates died Oct. 4, 2003, after being hit by a white Cadillac Escalade near the split of interstates 40 and 85, where he was repairing a ruptured tire.

Emily Caveness, a senior at N.C. State University, was driving at the time of the accident.

She was initially charged with felonious hit-and-run and misdemeanor hit-and run but pled to a lesser charge in exchange for testifying against Samara.

Caveness is now charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor for failing to report an accident.

"I knew it was going to be a difficult case," said District Attorney Carl Fox. "It falls through the cracks because (Samara) wasn't the one driving the car at the time of the incident."

The felony charge against Samara was for failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving injury or death to a person. The misdemeanor charge was for failing to remain at the scene of an accident involving property damage.

Samara testified that he was asleep in the passenger seat when the vehicle hit Gates.

He said a loud noise that sounded like a speaker had exploded woke him up, adding that he then tried to calm Caveness down.

Fox said Samara's mistake was taking control of the situation. When he did that, he could have put himself in a situation of leaving the scene of an accident.

"I would have been the first person to go back and save him if he was alive," Samara testified. "That's the kind of person I am. That was the second in my life where I should have been awake and sober."

The Gates family was surrounded by friends and supporters on Friday as they listened to Samara's testimony, the closing arguments and the verdict.

"Had I known what I know now, things would have been different," Samara said in his testimony.

Samara's lawyers made three attempts Friday to have the case dismissed, each time having the motion denied by Judge Ed Wilson.

Neither Caveness nor Samara was charged with the actual death of Gates because North Carolina law states that "the driver of any vehicle who knows or reasonably should know - that the vehicle which he is operating is involved in an accident or collision; and that the accident or collision has resulted in injury or death to any person - shall immediately stop his vehicle at the scene of the accident or collision.

"He shall remain at the scene of the accident until a law-enforcement officer completes his investigation of the accident or collision, or authorizes him to leave," the law states.

The defense's argument for both Caveness and Samara was that they did not know they had hit someone, and the prosecution was unable to prove otherwise.

Pat Gates, Stephen Gates' mother, said that although she was disappointed with the verdict, she wasn't really surprised. "I can understand how the jury came to that conclusion," she said. "I believe (Samara) is genuinely remorseful."

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.