35.960431,-75.633144,Jockey Ridge State Park, OB, North Carolina,
USA

http://outerbanksvoice.com/2012/07/18/pedestrian-killed-on-u-s-158-in-kdh/

Diana writes:

Hi, first I want to thank all of you that have expressed their
sorrow and concern for us, John’s family and friends. However, I would like to
take exception with a couple of comments that have been made and clarify some
misconceptions.

First, it was determined in the course of the investigation that alcohol did NOT
play a part in this tragedy. It was originally thought that MAYBE it did because
John did have a couple of drinks that day but it was found to have ONLY been
approx. Two glasses of beer over a four hour time period – not enough to cause
intoxication and the toxicology report verified this. That is why you only see
alcohol mentioned in the very first news report and then never mentioned again
in any subsequent reports. So please, if any of you are just picturing him as
some derelict staggering around drunk in the middle of the day, erase that from
your mind. The fact is, he hardly drank at all and even more rarely, to the
point of total intoxication.

Second, to the person(s) who previously intimated that because John tried to
cross the busy road he was “stupid” or “unthinking” I can assure you that he was
neither. I am sure he would be horrified that his misstep has caused such
distress to the truck driver who is truly innocent. He was thoughtful and
considerate of others far beyond what most people would ever expect from another
human being. He was an accomplished pilot (with a commercial license) not only
in ultralights but in sailplanes, powered aircraft, experimental aircraft,
remote control aircraft and helicopters (having done some work for a defense
contractor on these types of craft) and though not licensed, could expertly fly
helicopters too. He was a sailor, who as a teenager, taught himself celestial
navigation and owned several sailboats over the years. He was also a surfer that
was offered sponsorship in his younger days, and had recently (last 4 or 5
years) taken up windsurfing and moved from beginner to expert in an incredibly
short amount of time to the amazement of other windsurfers he sailed with. These
few things are only scratching the surface of his mental and physical abilities.
So maybe he exhibited a little over confidence in his ability to handle such a
dangerous road, but please don’t think he was stupid.

One other thing, some one mentioned (on an obxconnection board) the plane crash
into the sound that happened two days before this accident and stated that he
and the female passenger swam to shore. In reality he swam the 2 miles to shore
carrying this woman on his back as well as having crawled out of his seat while
they were coming down under parachute and climbing back to her in her seat (at
immense danger to himself) so that he could be there to protect her on impact
and help her with getting out of her harness.

As well as being a friend to so many, John was a legend in the hang gliding
community for his skill and patience helping any who asked and his vast
knowledge of just about anything you wanted to talk about. With out a doubt he
was considered one of the best, if not the BEST, tow pilots in the world for
hang glider towing and sailplane towing. But for me, he was the love of my life
and my daughter’s father and grandfather to our 3 beautiful granddaughters.

Thank you for reading this. I just wanted to clarify who John was and hopefully
replace misinformation with truth and to dispel the idea that seemed to be
slowly taking shape that he was just a stupid drunk that had stumbled out into
traffic.

I love you John Wiley Carlton and you will forever be in my heart and the heart
of all the many who loved you!

Thanks to Brad.