Meredith student charged in wrong way I-40 crash appears in court

According to authorities, Julia Margaret Fritschel, a Meredith College student, was driving east in the westbound lanes of I-40 near Jones Sausage Road at about 6 a.m. Sunday when she collided head-on with a silver PT Cruiser driven by Chandra Waletha Green, 41. The crash caused Green's car to catch fire.

Fritschel was taken to WakeMed with non-life-threatening injuries. She was charged with driving while impaired, having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle, careless and reckless driving and driving the wrong way on an interstate. Green was taken to WakeMed, where she remains hospitalized with serious injuries.

Shantera Green, Chandra's daughter, said she is trying to be strong for her mom. She said she left her mother's bedside to attend the hearing Thursday.

This is the second time Fritschel has been charged with DWI. She has a pending charge from May, according to court documents.

"This time she hurt somebody," Green said. "That is my mom."

District Court Judge Ned Mangum refused to lower Fritschel's $100,000 secure bond. If she posts bond, Mangum added that she not consume alcohol as a condition of her pre-trial release.

"The entire Fritschel family, their thoughts and prayers, they are thinking about the Green family," said defense attorney Roger Smith Jr. "Julia is going to be OK as far as her injuries go. And that is all they are thinking about - the Green family. They are praying for them."