CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The inner loop of Interstate 485 near West Boulevard was reopened after being shut down for hours after two people died in a fiery crash caused by an apparent wrong-way driver, officials said.
Troopers said at least three cars were involved in the accident near exit 6 around 7 p.m. Sunday, and one of the cars caught fire.
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"The van was going the wrong way on the inner loop,” Highway Patrol Trooper Ray Pierce said. "(It) was involved in a collision prior to that collision, which involved three other vehicles."
The driver of the van and a driver of one of the other vehicles, a Honda, died.
Two other people suffered minor injuries.
Pierce said the driver of the van may have been impaired.
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"The van continued traveling the wrong way, where it struck the Honda in the wrong lane of travel," Pierce said. "I-485, unfortunately, seems to be where the majority of these crashes are happening."
No names have been released and the North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.
Three people have died in wrong-way crashes on I-485 since the Thanksgiving holiday.
"It could have happened to me and it's a shame that people don't take life seriously,” driver Malvin McCloud said. “Drinking and driving, whatever."
In 2015, Channel 9 investigated a surge in wrong-way crashes on North Carolina interstates.
Other states, including Texas, have reduced those types of crashes by making wrong-way signs more visible so impaired drivers can see them.
Troopers said Mecklenburg County leads the state in wrong-way crashes, but the technology to prevent them is not being tested on I-485. It's being tested in Raleigh.
Since 2015, the North Carolina Turnpike Authority started testing things like flashing signs on the Triangle Expressway, which is technology troopers would like to see on I-485.
"I think at this point, anything would help," Pierce said.
Troopers said that driving under the influence is the most common factor in wrong-way crashes on I-485.
No names have been released and the North Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.
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