Robert Fox, Sophia Gordan Death – Officials announced on Sunday that two teenagers have tragically lost their lives in a late-night crash on I-40 in Asheville. The incident involved students from Charlotte Catholic High School, as stated in a Facebook post made by the school. A total of six teenagers were involved in the crash, including two minors. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to the fatal crash at around 11:31 p.m. on Saturday. The crash occurred on the off-ramp of Exit 53B on I-40 in Buncombe County.
According to authorities, the driver of a 2015 Volvo passenger car was traveling east on I-40 and attempted to take the Exit 53B off-ramp. However, the vehicle was traveling at an excessive speed, causing the driver to lose control. The car veered off the left side of the road and collided with a tree. Preliminary investigations indicate that speed played a significant role in the crash. Tragically, two rear passengers, identified as Robert Fox, 19, from Wilmette, Illinois, and Sophia Gordan, 16, from Charlotte, N.C., lost their lives in the accident.
Two other rear passengers, Isabella Tarantelli, 18, and a 17-year-old minor from Charlotte, were transported to a local hospital in critical condition. The driver of the vehicle, William Tyson Neumann, 18, from Augusta, Georgia, and the front-seat passenger, Hunter Sanford, 18, from Pineville, N.C., sustained minor injuries and were also taken to a local hospital. Currently, no charges have been filed in relation to the crash.