NC viber killed by wrong way highway driver

[joatmon]

http://www.charlotte.com/break....htmlQuote »Wrong-way wreck kills 2 on I-485Man drove around police barricadeKYTJA WEIRkweir@charlotteobserver.comDemario PerryAuthorities tried to stop a wrong-way driver on Interstate 485 early Sunday, but the 20-year-old man drove around their barricade, traveled several more miles and then crashed into another car.Both he and the other driver died. A passenger in the car that was hit remained hospitalized in critical condition Sunday.The wreck was the third deadly wrong-way collision within the past two years on I-485. Last year state officials studied how to stop such deadly crashes after seven deaths in the region. The report did not pinpoint practical or affordable solutions.In this latest case, authorities received a 911 call at 3:10 a.m. that a car was headed the wrong way on I-485 in south Charlotte, according to Observer news partner WCNC-TV. Demario Keonta Perry of Charlotte was going east in the westbound lanes.Two Pineville police officers spotted the 1986 Chevrolet Impala as it passed Park Road Extension, according to WCNC, and were able to block the highway and stop Perry.But before the officers could get out of their cars, N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. F.J. Hargro Jr. said, the driver wheeled onto the grassy shoulder and drove around them.The Pineville officers couldn't follow him in the wrong lanes, Hargro said, so they headed east in the proper lanes. They flashed their blue lights, he said, in hopes of alerting westbound drivers.They also contacted Matthews police, warning them that the wrong-way car was headed toward their town.Two Matthews officers got into position where I-485 crosses Weddington and Pleasant Plains roads, said Matthews police Cpl. K.A. Greene.She said they planned to throw down "stop sticks" that puncture tires if the wrong-way car approached. They also hoped to stop any westbound vehicles before they could get close."Unfortunately there was a motorist between us and them," Greene said.A 2005 Pontiac Vibe heading west tried to swerve out of the way of the oncoming car, Trooper Derrick Freeman said.But the two cars collided at 3:22 a.m., about half a mile west of the Providence Road exit -- and before Perry had reached the Matthews officers.The Pineville officers saw the crash happen, Hargro said, and all of it was recorded on their patrol car cameras."I'm sure they felt rather defenseless," Hargro said.Both Perry and the driver of the Vibe died at the scene. Authorities had not released his name Sunday.The passenger in the Vibe, Cassandra Marie Lawrence, 20, was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center with broken legs and head injuries, Freeman said. The Charlotte resident remained in critical condition as of 11:20 p.m.None wore their seat belts, Hargro said.Investigators are awaiting toxicology reports from Perry's autopsy. They are also reconstructing the crash to determine how fast he was driving.It's not clear where Perry got onto the wrong lanes of the highway -- or why he wouldn't stop, Hargro said.Perry's family lives near where I-485 and Interstate 77 meet in southwest Charlotte. A woman who answered the phone at the home said the family was not ready to comment.An August 2006 report found that only 162 of 100,000 freeway crashes between 2000 and 2005 in North Carolina were wrong-way collisions. Forty-four people were killed, but the relatively small number of crashes made it difficult for state officials to find patterns and solutions.Meanwhile, Hargro said drivers staring down an oncoming vehicle have few options because of the short amount of time they have to react."We've got to stop it before even getting to that point," he said. "You've got to think a little broader and solve the core problem."Hargro said the past wrong-way fatalities in the area involved drunken drivers. And when the crash occurred Sunday, he said, all the troopers working in Mecklenburg were at the jail processing people suspected of impaired driving.another article, website also has a video of news coverage, says police car cameras filmed the accident, but that video has not been released yet.http://www.wsoctv.com/news/13354245/detail.htmlQuote »Drivers Killed In I-485 Wrong-Way Accident In South CharlottePOSTED: 12:42 pm EDT May 20, 2007UPDATED: 6:26 pm EDT May 21, 2007CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Troopers say a man driving the wrong way on Interstate 485 crashed head-on into another vehicle, killing himself and the man in the other car early Sunday.The state Highway Patrol said Demario Perry, 20, of Charlotte was traveling east in the westbound lane around 3:22 a.m. Several drivers called 911 and a Pineville police officer saw the car between South Boulevard and Interstate 77 and tried to stop him, but had to call for help.Pineville police were able to box in Perry’s car with one patrol car in the front and one in the back. Officers say Perry slowed down as they shifted him towards the shoulder, but he then went around the car in front and continued on I-485. Police say the dashboard camera provides evidence that a number of cars were able to avoid Perry’s car.Then Perry’s car collided with a red car traveling west near Providence Road in south Charlotte, sending the red car onto the road’s shoulder and Perry’s gray Chevy Caprice into the median, where it burned.Perry and the other driver, 54-year-old Bruce Edward Lawrence of Matthews, died at the scene. His passenger, 20-year-old Cassandra Lawrence of Charlotte, was rushed to Carolinas Medical Center with broken legs and head injuries. The 2005 Providence High School graduate remains in critical condition.Relatives say the father and daughter were on their way back home from Raleigh after moving the young woman’s sister.No one involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt.Troopers say Perry may have been going as fast as 90 miles per hour. The crash left behind no skid marks.Investigators are looking to see if alcohol was a factor in the crash. They say Perry had been driving the wrong way on the interstate for several miles.Perry, a graduate of Waddell High School, had been arrested several times over the last year, including once in April 2006 for operating a vehicle without a license.

[ashleymc_38]

Completely awful. I would hate to see the wreckage of that crash. I'm thankful that my accident on Saturday wasn't as nearly half as bad at that

[keithvibe]

WOW... is all i have to say...