UPDATE Thursday 11:10 a.m. The women who were killed in the crash are identified as Dotty Lou Hayes, 73, of Hurricane, and her daughter, Sherri McClanahan, 53, of Hurricane. The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department says the man and six-year-old hurt in the crash remain in critical condition at CAMC.
ST. ALBANS, W.Va. — A Cabell County man was charged Wednesday night with driving under the influence after causing a crash that killed two people and injured two others Wednesday afternoon in western Kanawha County.
Kanawha County deputies charged Andrew Jackson Wyrick, 25, of Culloden, with 2 counts of DUI causing death and 2 counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury following the crash on U.S. Route 60 west of St. Albans.
It’s alleged Wyrick’s westbound pick-up truck crossed the double center line near the highway’s intersection with Winfield Road and slammed into an eastbound SUV at around 4:35 p.m.
Two women in the SUV were killed. Deputies said one of them died at the scene and the other a short time later at Thomas Memorial Hospital. A man and 6-year-old child also in the SUV suffered multiple injuries and are both in critical condition at CAMC General.
The names of those killed and those injured have yet to be released.
According to the criminal complaint, Wyrick said he was “hitting a Delta-8 and Delta-9 THC” cartridge several times approximately 30-45 minutes prior to the crash.
He failed field sobriety tests.
Deputies said there were no signs that Wyrick braked at all before the collision.
Wyrick was arraigned Wednesday night in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. He’s being held in the South Central Regional Jail on $100,000 bail.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigating.
The highway was closed until about 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.