Answer Woman: Update on fatal W. Asheville crash that caught fire? Anyone charged?
Today’s reader inquiry delves into a fiery crash that left one woman dead, and after reports came out of a possible Jeep trailing the car and shooting at the occupants prior to the collision, one concerned resident is wondering if there’s been any updates in the case.
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Question: I have been super curious what has occurred in the case where the car traveling at high speed on Haywood Rd in West Asheville slammed into Mason's Muffler killing the female passenger. I did see an article that was reported after the driver and other passengers were finally caught in which there was mention of the car being shot at after leaving a venue on the other end of Haywood Road. Since then, I have not seen anything. Are there any available updates on that?
Answer: APD spokesperson Samantha Booth confirmed that the investigation into the accident is "still open and actively being investigated." She also stated there are no available updates at this time and did not indicate if there have been charges filed for the incident, which was labeled a hit and run.
However, a dive into public documents unveils more details into the crash and into the life of the woman who died.
On Feb. 12, a Dodge Charger carrying four people was traveling down Haywood Road when the driver tried to make a left turn “in a reckless manner,” according to police. The car then ran into the unoccupied building of Mason Muffler and caught fire.
According to an incident report obtained by the Citizen Times Sept. 1, the car was traveling at 90 mph just five seconds before the air bags deployed.
The driver and two of the passengers fled the scene, APD originally reported, leaving Teri Quannett Hughes at the crash site with “blunt force injuries (to her) right hip and pelvis,” according to her death certificate obtained by the Citizen Times Sept. 1.
However, a later version of the incident report states: “Driver 1 remained on scene after the crash but failed to disclose that she was the one driving and who all was in the vehicle. This will remain as a Hit and Run.”
Hughes, who was riding shotgun in the car, was taken to Mission Hospital for treatment, where she died two days later. Age 35 at the time of her death, Hughes was a tutor at UNC Asheville, according to her death certificate.
The medical examiner, in the certificate, stated that the injuries leading to her death were caused by a single “motor vehicle collision while fleeing from assault” on Haywood Road. The manner of death is listed as a homicide, and the immediate cause of death was pulmonary thromboembolism, or a blood clot that stops blood flow to an artery in the lung.
Hughes told the police that on the day of the accident, she had been at a party at Different Wrld, a Black-owned, femme and queer “creative venue space” on Haywood Road, according to its website. She said she heard gun discharges and got into the passenger seat of her own vehicle, not knowing who the driver was, according to an APD search warrant.
A 911 caller, Hughes and the driver of the Charger all claimed that someone was following them in a Jeep and firing gunshots at their car prior to the accident, as detailed in the search warrant. It is not clear if police ultimately determined if shots were fired.
Asheville police executed search warrants in February for DNA inside the vehicle, a crash data recorder and the cellphones that were seized at the scene, which "could possess information such as conversations” about the night and the lead-up to the crash.
According to Hughes’ obituary, she went by the nickname ‘Que’ and “was loved and showed love” with a smile that was “contagious, beautiful and bright.” Hughes is survived by her young son, mother, father, three sisters and two brothers.
“She touched the hearts and lives of many,” her obituary reads. “Teri loved basketball, traveling and styling her favorite colors black and red. Teri loved her family but most of all her son Ty was her world.”
The Citizen Times attempted to reach out to Hughes' family, but they were unavailable for comment.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. News tips? Email Ryley at rober@gannett.com. Please support local, daily journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Answer woman updates on fatal fiery West Asheville crash and gunfire
