Troopers say alcohol played role in deadly I-85 wrong-way crash

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Authorities have released the name of a man killed in a head-on crash with a wrong-way driver early Friday morning on Interstate 85.

State troopers said Mitchell Mobley, 43, died when the car he was driving was hit head-on by the wrong-way driver.

The name of that wrong-way driver has not yet been released but investigators told Channel 9 that alcohol played a role in the crash.

some text

The collision happened around 2:30 a.m. in the northbound lanes of I-85, near Billy Graham Parkway, and troopers had to close those lanes for hours while they investigated.

Troopers told Channel 9 that a woman was driving southbound in the northbound lanes when she collided head-on with another car. One trooper told Channel 9 it was the worst crash he had ever seen.

That woman was killed, as was Mobley, according to troopers. A woman in Mobley's car was rushed to the hospital with critical injuries. Troopers believe Mobley had just taken that woman on a date before the crash happened.

A FedEx driver drove up on the crash shortly after it happened and told Channel 9 that he used his fire extinguisher to put out the flames after one vehicle caught fire.

"I couldn't really tell, the car was mangled up, you couldn't get to them," said Steven Kanode. "I could see one person in one car, two people in the other car. Who's who, I don't know."

Drivers who travel I-85 said anyone could have become a victim to the wrong-way driver.

"You really just gotta be looking out for yourself and everyone around you, especially with all the crazies out there," driver Blake Norman said.

Troopers said they're retracing the driver's steps, looking into where she was and what she was doing Thursday night so they can get a clearer picture of what was happening in the moments before she drove onto I-85.

Read more top trending stories on wsoctv.com: