Traffic

Troopers: Driver charged with DWI in fatal I-85 wreck

One person was killed and Interstate 85 was closed in both directions for several hours Tuesday because of a crash.

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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — One person was killed and Interstate 85 was closed in both directions for several hours Tuesday because of a crash.

The road was closed at about 4:15 p.m. near exit 165 in Hillsborough and completely reopened at about 11 p.m.

Investigators said that a passenger van driven by Robert Jason Mace, 40, of Graham was traveling south on I-85 when the vehicle ran off the right shoulder of the road and struck the rear of a stationary tractor trailer. The van continued on and collided with a Toyota pick-up truck driven by 41-year-old Jason Graffunder, of Burlington, causing the Toyota to overturn.

The front seat passenger in the van, 35-year-old Lisa Nicole Parker, of Mebane, died as a result of the crash. Mace and Graffunder were taken to Duke Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Mace was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by motor vehicle, DWI, careless and reckless driving, failure to maintain lane control and improper passing, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.

According to records from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, Mace has been cited for driving with a revoked license five times since 2007.

Traffic was backed up for several hours as authorities worked to clear the scene.

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