BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. — Jimmy Lee Brooks, 42, of Leicester, North Carolina, died after a wrong-way Tesla crash involving three vehicles on Interstate 26 near Asheville on Thursday afternoon, October 22, 2026.

Several other people were injured in the collision, and the Tesla driver has been charged in connection with the fatal crash.

According to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Bradley Vance Lanier, 54, of Taylors, South Carolina, was driving a Tesla westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-26 near Exit 37 when the vehicle struck a Honda SUV head-on before colliding with a Honda passenger car.

Brooks was a passenger in the Honda passenger car. He was transported to Mission Hospital in Asheville, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol said troopers responded to the crash at approximately 2:30 p.m. Thursday near mile marker 37 on eastbound I-26.

According to the agency’s statement, the Tesla entered the interstate traveling west in the eastbound lanes near Exit 37, also associated with Long Shoals Road. The vehicle first struck a Honda SUV head-on and then collided with a Honda passenger car.

A trooper from a neighboring county arrived shortly after the collision and began providing assistance to a passenger inside the Honda passenger car.

The car’s driver and two passengers were transported to Mission Hospital with serious injuries. Brooks was among the passengers and later died at the hospital. Authorities said the conditions of the other occupants were not immediately known.

The driver of the Honda SUV was also taken to Mission Hospital with minor injuries and was later released.

Lanier, the driver of the Tesla, sustained minor injuries and was transported to Mission Hospital before being released, according to the Highway Patrol.

Troopers subsequently charged him with four offenses:

• Driving while impaired (DWI)
• Felony death by vehicle
• Felony serious injury
• Reckless driving

Following his release from the hospital, Lanier was taken to the Buncombe County Detention Facility, where he was being held on a $5 million secured bond, according to the agency’s statement.

The charges are allegations, and the case will proceed through the court system. The official statement does not establish a conviction.

Interstate 26 was closed for approximately two hours while troopers investigated the collision and documented the scene.

The investigation centers on the circumstances that led the Tesla to travel in the wrong direction on the eastbound side of the interstate and the subsequent collisions involving the two Honda vehicles.

Authorities have not released the current medical conditions of all the injured occupants.

The fatal crash claimed the life of Brooks, a Leicester resident, and left several other people requiring hospital treatment.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating the collision. Further information about the case may be released as the investigation and legal proceedings continue.