Community shocked after crash kills one teen, injures two others; driver facing charges

By Rex Hodge & Kari Barrows

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    LAKE JUNALUSKA, North Carolina (WLOS) — A mountain community is reeling after a teenage girl was killed and two other teenagers were injured in a crash over the weekend.

Trooper Rohn Silvers, a public information officer with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, tells News 13 on Sunday, Feb. 12, around 3:43 p.m., a Ford F-150 was traveling south on South Lake Shore Drive in the Lake Junaluska community when the vehicle traveled off the roadway and over an embankment.

While the truck rolled over twice, Silvers says one passenger, Alexis Grace Sherrill, 17, of Waynesville, was ejected from the vehicle.

Highway Patrol says the driver, Ethan Lee Durham, 17, of Canton, and another passenger Karissa Bradshaw, 17, of Waynesville, were both transported to Mission Hospital in Asheville.

Tragically, 17-year-old Sherrill was pronounced dead at the scene by Haywood County coroner Clay Bryson.

The crash came as a shock to the usually serene community. One resident, Haidee Wilson, says navigation around the narrow South Lake Shore Drive can be challenging.

“This is sort of a blind curve here and it’s hard to see and maybe people take the curve too fast,” Wilson explains.

Lake Junaluska representatives say the posted speed limit is 15 miles an hour, with occasional speed bumps to encourage the slow pace.

Troopers say it appears speed was the contributing factor for the crash. The 17-year-old driver, Durham, has been charged with careless and reckless driving and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.

Haywood County Schools Superintendent Dr. Trevor Putnam confirms all three teenagers were enrolled in the school district and extended his condolences to their families. He says counselors are available to assist friends and classmates.

Ken Howle, executive director with the Lake Junaluska retreat center, sent the following message on Sunday to community members regarding the deadly crash:

With a heavy heart, we share that today, February 12, at approximately 4:00 pm, a single-vehicle accident occurred along South Lakeshore Drive. Within minutes, Lake Junaluska Security and emergency responders were on the scene. One passenger tragically did not survive the accident, and North Carolina State Highway Patrol is in the process of notifying the family. Please join me in praying for everyone involved in this tragic accident so that they may feel God’s comfort and strength. As crews began making repairs to the damaged roadside railing on Monday, Wilson says she wonders if stronger safety measures could be established.

“Maybe some things can be prevented,” she says. “Maybe a metal guardrail rather than a wooden one on certain areas.”

Representatives with Lake Junaluska say the teenagers were not connected to the Lake Junaluska Retreat Center or the Lake Junaluska community at large, they just were guests on the grounds.

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