Twins killed in wrong-way I-485 crash ‘put a smile on your face,’ friend says
A drunk driver who was traveling the wrong way on Charlotte’s outerbelt was responsible for the crash that killed three people early Sunday morning, the state Highway Patrol said.
Two of the victims, Concord residents John and James Lee Woodson, were 27-year-old twins. They were talented dancers and musicians who had starred in many shows at the Piedmont Players Theatre in Salisbury, said Aaron “AJ” Chambers, a close friend of the twins.
“Whenever you were going out and you heard John and James were going to be there, it automatically put a smile on your face,” Chambers said. “You wanted to be around them 24-7.”
The third victim, 28-year-old Pedro Manuel Medrano, was from Louisville, Kentucky, authorities said.
Medrano was a passenger in the Chevrolet Suburban that had been driven by Richard Brent Dunn, also of Louisville, the Highway Patrol said. Dunn’s SUV was traveling the wrong way on Interstate 485 shortly after 3:30 a.m. when it smashed head-on into the Nissan Maxima carrying the Woodsons.
Dunn, 33, was transported to Carolinas Medical Center. He was initially in critical condition, “but I think he’s in a little more stable condition now,” according to Trooper Ray Pierce.
He has been charged with driving while impaired. “There will be further charges forthcoming,” Pierce said.
It’s not yet clear how far Dunn had traveled in the wrong direction before the crash, Pierce said. Afterward, troopers found open containers of alcohol in his car, he said.
The wreck shut down a portion of I-485, between University City Boulevard and North Tryon Street, until around 1 p.m. Sunday.
‘The most outgoing people’
John and James Woodson were born performers, said Chambers, their longtime friend. And stage audiences weren’t the only ones they delighted.
Chambers recalls trips to Carowinds when the twins would place a portable speaker on the ground, play Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” and then begin dancing just like the King of Pop. People would crowd around the two of them and applaud.
In the months before they died, they were working on an album together and teaching dance, Chambers said.
“They were just the most outgoing people you could ever meet in your life,” Chambers said. “They didn’t care what you thought of them. There was nothing they were afraid of.”
There will be a candlelight vigil for the twins at North Rowan High School, where they went to school, Chambers said. The event is scheduled to take place at 7 p.m. Saturday.
“I just want people to know they were the nicest people you’d ever want to meet,” Chambers said.
This story was originally published September 22, 2022 at 1:20 PM.
.JPG)