Tragic, Fatal Wrong-way Accident on Interstate 85 in Davidson County, North Carolina
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — A 28-year-old woman died in a crash as she sped south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 85 in Davidson County. WFMY News 2 interviewed a female motorist who was video recording the wrong-way driver. She sped up and tried to warn drivers on the northbound side of the impending danger. The wrong-way driver ultimately went off of the road and then hit two vehicles. She died in the crash. One other driver was hurt. His injuries are not life-threatening. North Carolina Highway Patrol troopers and local sheriffs’ deputies are trying to figure out why the woman drove for miles in the wrong direction on I-85. *
The female driver who captured video of the wrong-way driver told WFMY News 2 that she was petrified as she helpless watched a woman in a black Nissan Altima reach speeds between 85 and 90 miles per hour going in the wrong direction on I-85. Realizing she had to do something to warn unsuspecting motorists on the northbound side, the video taker sped ahead of the wrong-way driver. She flashed her car’s lights and sounded the horn in a desperate attempt to warn others to beware. The woman said that she could look into the Altima from across the media.
According to the first-hand report filed by one of the responding Troopers, the wrong-way driver grasped the steering wheel at “10 and 2” and glared straight ahead in a “death stare.” The trooper thought that the woman was suicidal. He also said that drivers fractionally swerved to avoid smashing into her head one.
The troopers do not know why she was going as fast as she was on I-85 in the wrong direction. Troopers believe that she entered I-85 around the Davidson and Rowan County lines. Troopers used “stop sticks” as well as attempts to pull the driver over to no avail. The driver continued south in the northbound lanes for another six miles before losing control, going off of the road, striking the rear of a tractor-trailer truck and then head-on into an SUV. The driver of the SUV was hurt.
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Source:https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/traffic/accident-i85-davidson-road/83-3f2771b0-e384-4a19-a06d-a73933d3e769