The accident occurred early Wednesday along southbound Interstate 81 in Berkeley County
Highway Fatal-DUI-West Virginia, 1st Ld-Writethru
MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – A suspected drunken driver was arrested in a New Year’s Day highway crash that killed another motorist in West Virginia, police said.
The accident occurred early Wednesday along southbound Interstate 81 in Berkeley County.
Cody Wade Braithwaite, 32, of Winchester, Virginia, was charged with DUI with death, fleeing DUI, and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and a fugitive from justice, Berkeley County Sheriff Curtis Keller said.
Keller said a deputy investigating calls about a reckless driver attempted to make a traffic stop, but the suspect’s vehicle sped up and hit a car, which then struck a guardrail. The driver of the car was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver’s name was not immediately released.
The suspect’s vehicle also hit a deputy’s cruiser before being stopped, Keller said.
Braithwaite was being held without bond in the Eastern Regional Jail. It wasn’t immediately known whether Braithwaite has an attorney.