LEWIS COUNTY, W.Va. — Criminal charges are pending after a Thursday evening accident resulted in the death of two people and injured two others.
Thomas Francke, 22, Charleston, lost control of his GMC Yukon while traveling south bound on I-79 near mile marker 85 after 3 PM Thursday afternoon, which resulted in a head-on collision with a minivan carrying a Canadian family of four on I-79 North.
At this point, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department believes speed was the main contributing factor in the accident.
Raymond Nicholson, 86, was pronounced dead the scene. Brian Nicholson, 57, died later that evening as a result of his injuries. Minivan driver Wayne Nicholson, 52, remains at Ruby Memorial Hospital. His condition is unknown. Kelly Pearson, 58, is still at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown. Her condition is unknown.
The Sheriff’s Department is still reconstructing the accident, and will meet with the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office to determine if they will press forward with criminal charges.
HealthNet was unavailable to transport the injured due to wintry weather.