Two people are injured and one arrested after a premeditated drag race led to a crash on I-485 last night. The vehicles involved were a white Mercedes-Benz and a minivan.
According to the N.C. Highway Patrol, the vehicles were traveling approximately 120 miles per hour when one of them, a minivan, flipped and caught on fire. Luckily, neither the driver nor the passenger or the minivan was seriously injured.
The minivan crashed on the ramp that runs from I-485's inner loop to the northbound lane of I-77. Authorities say the race stemmed from an argument at Ballantyne's Fox and Hound bar about which of the two vehicles was faster.
A N.C. State Trooper was assisting a motorist on the outer loop of I-485 when he saw the vehicles racing down the opposite lane of the interstate. That trooper found the wrecked minivan when he attempted to pursue the race. Eyewitness reports say that the minivan exploded on impact, creating a large fireball.
The minivan's driver faces charges including pre-arranged speed competition, travelling over 100 miles an hour in a 65 mile an hour zone, and driving while intoxicated. The other vehicle was not affected by the crash and never stopped.
