Police still trying to figure out what led to head-on crash that killed two in Garner
Police are still trying to determine how the driver of an SUV got on U.S. 70 Business going the wrong way and hit a car head on early Monday.
The drivers of both vehicles were killed, and an 18-year-old passenger in the car was critically injured.
Police say Louis Mary Joachim Jr. of Clayton was driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of U.S. 70 Business near Greenfield Parkway when he hit a Lexus head on. Both Joachim, 50, and the driver of the Lexus, 43-year-old Jermaine Maurico Bass of Garner, were killed. Bass’s son Jquaris was critically injured.
Both drivers were speeding at the time of the collision, according to a crash report from the Garner Police Department. Officers estimate Joachim was going 115 mph and Bass was doing 82 mph when they hit in the center lane of the three-lane highway. It appeared neither of them braked, according to the report.
None of the three people involved in the crash was wearing a seat belt, according to the crash report. Police say it’s not known whether drugs or alcohol played a role.
The crash took place shortly after 2 a.m. Police are not aware of any witnesses, according to Capt. Chris Adams of the Garner Police Department.
Garner police are still investigating why the two vehicles collided, Adams said.
“Both drivers may have contributed to the crash,” he wrote in an email. “We do believe that speed was a factor for both vehicles. Driving in the wrong direction was the main factor, but not the only one.”
