Man drank up to 20 beers before head-on wreck in Matthews, police said

A Monroe man involved in a fiery head-on wreck on East Independence Boulevard in Matthews Feb. 7 was previously convicted of misdemeanor death by vehicle and told police he drank 17 to 20 beers before the latest collision, according to court records and a police search warrant.

Kanyon Ainnone Carter, 41, was driving with a revoked license Feb. 7 when his westbound Chevy Suburban crossed the center median and struck a Toyota Tundra head-on, police said. Carter’s SUV burst into flames, according to the search warrant.

Each driver suffered serious but the injuries weren’t life-threatening, police said. The wreck happened between Sam Newell Road and Rice Road Extension.

Carter’s license had been revoked since his involvement in a fatal wreck in September 2013, according to the warrant returned to Mecklenburg County District Court this week.

Carter was found guilty in 2014 of misdemeanor death by vehicle in that wreck and was placed on two years probation, court records show.

Carter’s criminal record in North Carolina stretches back to 1996, court records show. Since then, he has been found guilty on three occasions of driving while impaired, records show.

This story was originally published February 27, 2015 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Man drank up to 20 beers before head-on wreck in Matthews, police said."