3 dead, 2 injured in wrong-way I-85 crash in Orange County

Three people were killed in Orange County after a head-on collision overnight, according to Highway Patrol.

A preliminary investigation found that Kania was driving his Jeep Wrangler northbound in the southbound lanes of I-85, near mile marker 163 and the Interstate 40 split, when he collided head-on around 3 a.m. Sunday with a Suzuki passenger vehicle. Three people in the Suzuki died at the scene, and the surviving child also was in the Suzuki. Kania is charged with DWI, careless and reckless driving, and possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage. A Triad man was among two others taken to the hospital. The third victim has not yet been identified. Kania was treated at the hospital for non-life threatening injuries.

“This is a horrific situation”, Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said. “This is awful. It’s hard to imagine how it gets much worse”.

No charges have yet been filed, but officials said alcohol may have been a factor.

The Highway Patrol is trying to determine where he got onto I-85 and how long he had been driving in the wrong direction before the crash. Because Kania is only 20 years old, the Alcohol Law Enforcement is also investigating.