Driver charged in crash that killed two

Suspected of DWI, she faces a slew of charges

RALEIGH -- The state Highway Patrol has charged a suspected drunken driver with multiple counts of murder and assault after the sport utility vehicle she was driving this month ran head-on into a car, killing a man and his son.

Christine Haithcock Meyers, 41, of 1149 Blackbeard Lane in Raleigh was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and driving while impaired, according to a search warrant made public Wednesday.

The Highway Patrol also charged Meyers with driving without insurance and driving left of center, according to an accident report completed Saturday.

Meyers is in the hospital recovering from the accident.

The wreck occurred just after 8 p.m. April 1 on Buffaloe Road. Highway Patrol investigators say Meyers was driving a GMC Envoy west on Buffaloe Road when it crossed the centerline and crashed head-on into a Honda. The driver of the Honda, Ruben Dario Medina, 34, of 6217 River Bluff Court in Raleigh, and his son, Jefferson Medina, 10, were killed in the crash.

The driver's daughter, Tiffany Medina, 4, and another passenger in the Honda, Alex Ramirez Sanchez, 20, of 6109 River Laurel Court in Raleigh, were taken to WakeMed's Raleigh Campus, according to the accident report.

Sanchez has been released from the hospital, WakeMed spokesperson Kelly Clarke said Wednesday. The hospital has no record of treating Tiffany, Clarke said.

The Highway Patrol obtained a search warrant Tuesday and seized an air-bag control module, including a device known as an "event data recorder," from Meyers' Envoy.

The event data recorder, also known as an EDR, is a computer that stores information immediately before and after a crash, including how fast the vehicle was traveling and whether the driver braked. It is like a black box found on aircraft.

Four days before the crash, Raleigh police charged Meyers with simple assault, according to records at the City-County Bureau of Identification. She remains at in fair condition at WakeMed, Clarke said.