The driver of a sport utility vehicle that crossed the median of U.S. 64 and struck a car head-on, killing a Hillsborough couple and their son, was charged with three counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle this morning.

Billy Ray Bullock Jr., 35, of Raleigh was heading westbound near the U.S. 64/64 Business split in Wendell early Christmas afternoon when he lost control of his Chevrolet Tahoe, crossed the grassy median of the divided highway and hit a car driven by Charles H. Burger Jr. Burger's wife, Barbara, 57, and son, Ivan, 20, died that day; Charles Burger, 57, died Wednesday.

The state Highway Patrol, which charged Bullock, concluded he was driving too fast for the rainy conditions. He suffered minor injuries and has said he remembers nothing about the crash.

A cable safety barrier installed along the median to prevent such accidents had been damaged in a previous crash. Wendell Fire Chief Tom Vaughan, whose department responded to the accident, said the deaths might have been prevented if the barrier had been repaired.