Sanford, N.C. — Police said Thursday that a Lee County High School junior died last week when he slammed into a car heading the wrong way on U.S. Highway 1, refuting a witness' statement that the car was parked on the highway.

Josh Britt, 17, was killed late Friday when he collided head-on with a car driven by Anthony Boswell, 48, of Sanford, on northbound U.S. 1 near Wicker Street in Sanford, police said. Boswell also died in the wreck.

A witness in a car traveling behind Britt's car told the state Highway Patrol that Boswell's car was stopped on the highway, facing south with its headlights off.

Sgt. Harold Layton of the Sanford Police Department said, however, that an accident reconstruction determined that Boswell was driving in the wrong direction when the collision occurred.

Police estimated that Britt was driving at 65 mph and Boswell at 58 mph at the time, Layton said.

Police are awaiting toxicology results on Boswell's blood to determine if that could shed light on why he was driving the wrong way on the highway. Authorities haven't been able to corroborate the witness' statement that Boswell's headlights were off at the time of the wreck.

Britt's funeral was held Wednesday in Sanford.

Lee County High Principal Greg Batten said that Britt was a popular student and played as the middle linebacker on the varsity football team.

In the past four years, more than 680 teenagers have been killed in wrecks that the state Highway Patrol investigated.