A 20-year-old UNC-Chapel Hill junior named Chandler Michael Kania (pictured below) caused a fiery wrong-way collision on I-85 in NoCar in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 19th, 2015 which killed three (3) people (including two (2) adult women and a six (6) y/o girl) and severely injuring two (2) others (one (1) of which was Chandler himself).
After being stabilized at the hospital Chandler was arrested and charged with three (3) counts of second-degree murder, three (3) counts of felony death by motor vehicle one (1) count of felony serious injury by motor vehicle, as well as lesser charges for DWI,careless and reckless driving and possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21. On Tuesday, July 28th, 2015 Chandler was released from jail on house arrest and $1,000,000.00 bond .
Per Highway Patrol reports the accident (if you can call it an "accident") occurred as Chandler was drunkenly traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 85 at around 3:00 am on July 19th and crashed his Jeep Wrangler into a Suzuki which had four (4) occupants. Passing motorists who witnessed the crash and called 911 recounted how both vehicles became engulfed in a massive fireball. "There’s a big car accident with a car traveling on the other side of the road. They smashed into each other and it blew up the car," one (1) witness reportedly told a 911 dispatcher.
Killed in the crash were 49 y/o Felicia Harris, 46 y/o Darlene McGee, both of Charlotte, NoCar, and Harris’ 6 y/o old granddaughter Janiece Smith, of Brooklyn, New York (all pictured - in order - below).
In addition Harris' youngest daughter, 9 y/o Jahnia King, suffered serious injuries, as did Chandler himself, who suffered a broken ankle, broken foot and a broken arm in the crash. He was brought into the courtroom for his bond hearing in a wheelchair.
While Chandler's family has said in a statement that their prayers are with the victims and their families, the victims' families apparently don't share the same sentiment. Darlene McGee’s sister, Connie, called Chandler "a selfish young man" for making the fateful decision to drink and drive, stating that "he had his whole life ahead of him, but he chose to drive drunk".
Adding insult to injury (literally) Connie McGee stated that her eldest sister, Harris, and the two girls, aged 6 and 9, were driving home from an annual memorial service in Virginia for McGee's mother when the crash happened. Apparently the women had in their car an urn containing the ashes of Darlene and Connie’s mother, and the family are now hoping to recover some of the cremains from the charred Suzuki.
After being stabilized at the hospital Chandler was arrested and charged with three (3) counts of second-degree murder, three (3) counts of felony death by motor vehicle one (1) count of felony serious injury by motor vehicle, as well as lesser charges for DWI,careless and reckless driving and possession of alcohol by a person under the age of 21. On Tuesday, July 28th, 2015 Chandler was released from jail on house arrest and $1,000,000.00 bond .
Per Highway Patrol reports the accident (if you can call it an "accident") occurred as Chandler was drunkenly traveling in the wrong direction on Interstate 85 at around 3:00 am on July 19th and crashed his Jeep Wrangler into a Suzuki which had four (4) occupants. Passing motorists who witnessed the crash and called 911 recounted how both vehicles became engulfed in a massive fireball. "There’s a big car accident with a car traveling on the other side of the road. They smashed into each other and it blew up the car," one (1) witness reportedly told a 911 dispatcher.
Killed in the crash were 49 y/o Felicia Harris, 46 y/o Darlene McGee, both of Charlotte, NoCar, and Harris’ 6 y/o old granddaughter Janiece Smith, of Brooklyn, New York (all pictured - in order - below).
While Chandler's family has said in a statement that their prayers are with the victims and their families, the victims' families apparently don't share the same sentiment. Darlene McGee’s sister, Connie, called Chandler "a selfish young man" for making the fateful decision to drink and drive, stating that "he had his whole life ahead of him, but he chose to drive drunk".
Adding insult to injury (literally) Connie McGee stated that her eldest sister, Harris, and the two girls, aged 6 and 9, were driving home from an annual memorial service in Virginia for McGee's mother when the crash happened. Apparently the women had in their car an urn containing the ashes of Darlene and Connie’s mother, and the family are now hoping to recover some of the cremains from the charred Suzuki.
A search warrant revealed that Chandler had used a fake ID card indicting that he was of legal drinking age to order alcoholic beverages the night of the crash at two (2) different Chapel Hill hot spots, "La Residence" restaurant and "He's Not Here" bar, both of which are now being investigated for serving a minor. Further investigation by law enforcement revealed (from one of his roommates... nice huh?) that Chandler had reportedly been going to the hot spots regularly and that he routinely used a driver’s license which belonged to an older Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brother. Finally, the creme-de-le-creme is that some of Chandler's "friends" (who had been out with him on the night of the wreck) reportedly told cops that they had tried to prevent Chandler from getting behind the wheel after their alcohol-fueled outing (which had started earlier on Saturday, July 18th evening) but that Chandler physically knocked one (1) of them to the ground and drove off anyhow.
Memo to the Folks: Wow. This is truly as bad as it gets. Chandler graduated from High School in 2013 where he was student body president, played soccer and tennis and swam for his school. He was reportedly "a rising college junior", being a student body board member with a mentoring program on campus and now he has to live with taking three (3) innocent lives, shattering uncounted others, is locked down with an ankle monitor and faces 65 years in prison. And all of this is because he made a bad alcohol fueled decision.
When it comes to the subject of drinking and driving, the best advice that you are ever going to hear is: "Don't do it! Get a DD (Designated Driver), not a DUI".
Be smart{er than Chandler Michael Kania}: Don't drink and drive, but, if you do, just say "NO{thing}", don't blow (in FL your 2nd subsequent refusal is a crime) and call me stat at 305-381-8686, 305-798-2220 or 1-888-SHARK-8-1.
Michael A. Haber, P.A.: Providing creative, effective and zealous criminal defense litigation services primarily in SoFlo since 1991.
At Michael A. Haber, P.A. "Its all about reasonable doubt"!
Michael A. Haber, Esq. is prepared to speak with you about your case!
Cell: 305-798-2220; Office: 305-381-8686; Toll Free: 1-888-SHARK-8-1
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THIS BLOG POST (AS ARE ALL OF HABERPA BLOG POSTS) IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT WHICH IS PRIMARILY DESIGNED, BY WAY OF REAL WORLD EXAMPLE, TO ASSIST THE GENERAL PUBLIC IN AVOIDING CONDUCT WHICH COULD FORESEEABLY RESULT IN ARREST AND PROSECUTION!
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