One dead, one hurt in Ga. 400 wreck caused by wrong-way driver.
By Mike Morris
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The southbound lanes of Ga. 400 in Sandy Springs have reopened following the second fatal wrong-way driver crash on the highway in as many weeks.
The two-vehicle wreck happened around 3:30 a.m. on Ga. 400 southbound between Holcomb Bridge and Northridge roads.
Sandy Springs police spokesman Steve Rose said Carlyn Emily Royball, 22, of Alpharetta, was driving northbound in the southbound lanes when she struck a sport utility vehicle head-on.
The SUV driver, Kelly Stevens, said he was on his way in to work as morning show co-host on B98.5 FM when he encountered the wrong-way driver.
"I was in the left lane and all of a sudden, I just looked up and there were headlights and it was a wrong-way driver," said Stevens, who called in to the show from Grady Memorial Hospital. "It just happened so fast, there was just nothing I could do."
Stevens' vehicle rolled over in the collision, and he apparently suffered some broken bones.
Royball, a 2008 graduate of Milton High School, died.
Rose said investigators had not yet determined whether Royball got on going the wrong way at Northridge Road or further south.
All southbound lanes of Ga. 400 were blocked after the crash, but by 5 a.m., traffic was easing by the wreck scene in the right emergency lane. Authorities reopened all southbound lanes about 6 a.m.
Friday's crash happened just nine days after two people died in a wrong-way crash a few miles south on Ga. 400.
In the August 15 crash, Atlanta police said Frampere Ingle got on Ga. 400 going southbound in the northbound lanes around 4:15 a.m., then slammed head-on into a car driven by Eric Hanks.
Both Ingle and Hanks were killed.
8 comments:
I wouldn't be surprised if she were high or something. Here is a mugshot of her from 3 years ago.
http://georgia.arrests.org/Arrests/Carlyn_Royball_6380096/
I wish GDOT would do something to make the side-by-side entrance/exit ramps safer. It's too easy for someone to turn into an exit ramp, thinking they're on an entrance ramp.
Shame on you. Carly Royball was a BEAUTIFUL person inside and out, just because she has a past doesn't mean she is still the same person, that picture was from 3 years ago. She wanted to be a teacher and she would've made a great one! She shouldn't be remembered for her mugshot. I agree that GDOT needs to do something about the side-by-side entrance/exit ramps, this mistake happens quite often. This is TRULY a tragedy, Carly Royball touched anybody's life she came in contact with. She was the type of person who could make you smile no matter what your mood was. She would NEVER purposely cause harm to anyone. It's a shame all the news coverage is all about Kelly getting injured and "oh yeah the girl died." Kelly is blessed to still be here, Carly lost her life. The news should be more on what a wonderful and caring person she was and it's sad to see her go. Just because she happened to hit a famous person, the loss of a young sweet girls life is being brushed off. I will always remember you Carly, may you rest in peace pretty girl! I love you so much!
Instead of digging up a mugshot from three years ago, show some more respect and class.
Oh please. Why did she drive for so long instead of going to the shoulder? is she new to the city? Did she just start driving? I am willing to wager she was impaired while driving.
She may be your friend and I am sorry for your loss. Tough way to learn a lesson and i feel bad that it had to end this way, but you have to be high to not realize you are driving the wrong way for a mile or two. I am going to assume she has driven that highway before as she has been a local for at least the last decade.
Heartless. This is the age of the Internet. Some things are better said off it. Shame on you for posting the second remark. Don't care what reason you come up with. You just stuck the knife in deeper to someone obviously hurting, not to mention all the other friends of Carly's, may she rest in Peace.
Katie Fagan, stop blaming GDOT. No one wished she should have died. But let's not pretend she was this saint. What she did was very reckless and we are lucky she did not take any lives with her. Blaming others for her death is pathetic just to make yourselves feel good about your friend. As others have pointed out, why didn't she stop once she went past the ramp?
So I checked for a followup on this case. Guess what. I was right. She was not just a tad impaired. She had nearly three times the legal level.
What about that friend who went to the press and said that no way she would drive drunk. No doubt her death is tragic because you shouldn't pay for a mistake with death. But if we are going to condemn football players for DUIs that end up with victims, why are we treating her like some angel?
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