A wrong-way drive on Interstate 26 in Buncombe County on Thursday afternoon, October 22, ended with one man dead, several people in hospital and a South Carolina driver facing felony charges, according to reporting by 828 News NOW citing the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Source: 828 News NOW — Leicester man killed in wrong-way I-26 crash (Oct 23, 2026)
Troopers said Bradley Vance Lanier, 54, of Taylors, South Carolina, was driving a Tesla westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-26 near Exit 37 (Long Shoals Road), around mile marker 36.5, at about 2:30 p.m. The Tesla struck a Honda SUV head-on and then collided with a Honda passenger car, WNC Times reported, also citing the Highway Patrol.
Jimmy Lee Brooks of Leicester, a passenger in the Honda car, was taken to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he died. The car's driver and a second passenger were taken to the same hospital with serious injuries, and their conditions were not immediately available in the reporting reviewed. The driver of the Honda SUV was treated for minor injuries and released.
Lanier was also treated for minor injuries, then arrested and taken to the Buncombe County Detention Center. Buncombe County jail records cited in the reporting show he was held under a $5 million secured bond, with a court appearance scheduled for Friday, October 23.
What is solid
- The North Carolina State Highway Patrol says Lanier's Tesla travelled west in the eastbound lanes of I-26 near Exit 37 and struck a Honda SUV and then a Honda car at about 2:30 p.m. on October 22.
- Jimmy Lee Brooks of Leicester, a passenger in the Honda car, died at Mission Hospital; two other occupants of the car were seriously injured and the SUV driver suffered minor injuries.
- Lanier, 54, of Taylors, South Carolina, was charged with felony death by vehicle, felony serious injury by vehicle, driving while impaired and reckless driving, and was held under a $5 million secured bond.
What is only claimed
- The charges against Lanier are allegations by the Highway Patrol; they have not been proved in court and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
- Troopers are still investigating, including how the Tesla entered the interstate the wrong way; the reporting reviewed did not give a final speed or a completed reconstruction.
The crash shut I-26 eastbound for about two hours and backed traffic up for miles, the North Carolina Department of Transportation said, with the closure moved back to Exit 33 and drivers diverted onto Brevard Road while troopers investigated and crews cleared the wreckage.