Teenager Charged with Murder in Wrong-Way DUI Crash Killing Two

A 19-year-old North Carolina woman is facing multiple charges, including two counts of second-degree murder, after allegedly driving her SUV the wrong way on Interstate 277 while intoxicated and without headlights, resulting in a collision that killed two people.

Kati Gissel Covarrubias-Barron was arrested following the incident that occurred around 12:18 a.m. on October 18 in Charlotte. According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Covarrubias-Barron was driving her Toyota RAV4 against oncoming traffic on I-277 when she collided with a Hyundai. A third vehicle, a Chevrolet Equinox, was also involved, but its three passengers sustained no injuries.

Mya’Angel Vonshay Robinson, a passenger in the Hyundai, was pronounced dead at the scene. Audrey Diamond Dawson, another passenger in the Hyundai, died after being transported to a hospital. Two other individuals suffered serious injuries in the crash.

Court documents state Covarrubias-Barron has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder, two counts of felony serious injury, driving while impaired, and driving by a person under 21 after consuming alcohol, as she did not possess a valid operator's license. Police reported that Covarrubias-Barron admitted to consuming five alcoholic drinks in the two hours leading up to the crash. Surveillance footage reportedly captured her vehicle making a U-turn onto the interstate, traveling approximately one mile at over 55 mph in the wrong direction before the fatal collision.

Covarrubias-Barron is currently being held without bond at the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office Detention Center. Her next court appearance is scheduled for November 6.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department is continuing its investigation and has requested that any witnesses or individuals with information regarding the crash contact Detective D. Leung.