Driver faces slew of charges after fatal, wrong-way Raleigh wreck

Raleigh, N.C. — A 23-year-old Wake Forest woman faces a slew of charges after a crash on Interstate 440 in Raleigh early Sunday that killed a man and seriously injured a woman.

Sarah Aimee Carden was charged with felony death by vehicle in the death of Tshimpangila Junior Bajani, along with felony serious injury by vehicle, felony hit-and-run resulting in death, felony fleeing to elude arrest, careless and reckless driving, driving while impaired and traveling the wrong way on a dual-lane highway.

Police said Carden was driving the wrong way on I-440 West between Beryl Road and Western Boulevard around 4 a.m.

Bajani and Adrina Angelica Moore were in a second vehicle traveling west in a westbound lane when they saw Carden's Acura heading toward them.

Bajani swerved to the right to avoid Carden's car, left the roadway, and as he tried to correct the car, it overturned several times before crashing into the guardrail.

Bajani, 30, of Raleigh, was killed. Moore, 25, of Raleigh, was taken to WakeMed with serious injuries. She has since been treated and released.

Court records show that Carden kept driving after the crash despite several officers' attempts to pull her over. A state trooper stopped her and arrested her on the Beltline near Six Forks Road. Authorities said she had a blood alcohol content of 0.16, which is twice the legal limit.

Less than two weeks ago, on May 30, Carden was charged with damaging personal property, according to court records.

Both sides of I-440 were closed for about four hours while police cleaned up debris and investigated the wreck. Traffic was diverted onto Western Boulevard and Hillsborough Street.

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Latest Comments

The punisher...at least she wasn't texting and driving???

What? Really? This young lady was drinking and driving, at 4:00 am in the morning on the wrong side. Usually texting doesn't cause people to go down the wrong interstate road, or atleast I haven't read of any, however; alchohol or drugs have clearly been addressed in this manner. But regardless, one is no better than the other, but to actually to make it seem that it is an excuse or at least better way to kill someone.

Seeminglyopposed
June 12, 2012 1:37 p.m.

Ray8218:

Did you really just say NC law requires drivers to slow down or move over?? On an article about a wrong way driver... where there is a law that requires drivers to drive on the correct side of the road?? I won't even go into more detail about how absurd that is.

The reason it takes so long is because it takes very expensive equipment to accurately measure the scene. This is also operated by certain Reconstruction folks that need to be called in to the scene. That of course takes time. The training we have is phenomenal but it sounds like you know more so please, come out and teach us. We're all ears....

RPD07
June 11, 2012 7:49 p.m.

Concerned citizen: you are wrong. Become educated about the interlock system and how problematic it is. It is horribly unreliable technology. Ford made a prototype truck made with an internal interlocking system and it was so plagued with false positive readings they threw the idea in the trash

jjsmith1973
June 11, 2012 6:48 p.m.

"Wrong way drivers are not unusual. Many of them don't even have ther headlights on making them difficult to see. Never drive in the left lane during darkness unless you you have a clear view for at least 500 feet. " - ray8218

This is terrific advice. I have seen 5 wrong way drivers on interstates, one even in the middle of the day with school buses at peril. All the wrong way drivers were in the left lane, their "right lane".

There is no reason to be in the left lane if your are not passing.

retroconsultant
June 11, 2012 6:31 p.m.

WRONG!! Can't fail the Interlock system unless you have been drinking. The breath test instruments are very reliable concerned citizen 2

Wrong concerned citizen. I am one of the few who can take a breathalyzer and fail and not have had a drink in months. Rare but it's a fact. I know when I was a security policeman in the USAF I took a test to see how they worked and failed. Was told very rare but it happens that is why if I was ever pulled over for suspicious of DWI I have to request a blood test.

babedan
June 11, 2012 5:17 p.m.