Chandler Kania Wrong-Way Crash: Trial, Verdict, and Sentence

Chandler Kania, then a 20-year-old University of North Carolina student, drove the wrong way on Interstate 85 near Orange County around 3 a.m. on July 19, 2015, and killed three people in a head-on collision. A jury acquitted him of second-degree murder in October 2016 but convicted him of three counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of reckless driving. He was sentenced to 12 to 16 years in prison.

What Happened on I-85

Kania had been drinking for hours before he got behind the wheel. He and a group of friends smoked marijuana at the beach on July 17, traveled to Chapel Hill the next day, and drank two cases of beer at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house, where Kania was a member. That night, using a borrowed driver’s license, he got into two Chapel Hill bars, La Residence and He’s Not Here, and kept drinking until closing.¹

Back at the fraternity house, multiple friends tried to stop him from driving. Fraternity brother Aditya Shah physically blocked him; Kania picked Shah up and threw him to the ground. Another friend, Alex Pugh, tried to grab the keys, but Kania blocked his arm, started his Jeep Wrangler, and sped off, running over a curb on his way out of the parking lot.²

Around 3 a.m., Kania drove north in the southbound lanes of I-85 near the I-40 split. He traveled roughly six miles in the wrong direction before slamming head-on into a Suzuki sedan.³ His blood-alcohol content came back at 0.17, more than twice North Carolina’s 0.08 legal limit, and he also tested positive for marijuana.⁴

The Victims

Three people in the Suzuki were killed:

Felecia Harris, 49, of Charlotte, who was driving.
Darlene McGee, 46, of Charlotte, a family friend riding as a passenger.
Jahnice Beard, 6, of Staten Island, New York, Harris’s granddaughter, in the backseat.

The sole survivor was Harris’s nine-year-old daughter, Jahnia King. She was taken to UNC Medical Center in critical condition and was later released.⁵⁶

The Charges

On September 28, 2015, an Orange County grand jury indicted Kania on a dozen counts. Those included three counts of second-degree murder, three counts of felony death by motor vehicle, one count of felony serious injury by motor vehicle, driving while impaired, driving left of center, obtaining alcohol by a minor, and underage consumption of alcohol.⁷ Prosecutors included an aggravating factor that Kania had “resisted the deterrence of others to commit offense,” a reference to the friends he had shoved aside on his way out.⁸

Before trial, Kania pleaded guilty to most of the counts: three counts of felony death by motor vehicle, one count of felony serious injury by motor vehicle, driving while impaired, driving the wrong way on an interstate, driving after consuming alcohol as a minor, possession of alcohol by a minor, and having an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.⁹ That left only the second-degree murder counts and reckless driving for the jury.

The Trial and Verdict

The trial opened October 5, 2016, in Orange County Superior Court before Judge Henry Hight. The fight was over one word: malice. Under North Carolina law, second-degree murder requires proof of an intentional act showing a “depravity of mind,” meaning the defendant knew his conduct would likely result in death or serious injury. Prosecutors argued that Kania’s decision to drive drunk after physically overpowering friends who tried to stop him met that standard.³

Over six days, the state called troopers, firefighters, a paramedic, a forensic scientist, and several of Kania’s own friends and fraternity brothers. Jurors heard about the 0.17 BAC, the marijuana, and indications he had been texting while driving.¹⁰ The defense called no witnesses and argued the case was a tragic drunk driving crash, not murder, and that the evidence fell short of the specific intent second-degree murder requires.⁹

After about eleven hours of deliberation spread over three days, the jury returned its verdict on October 17, 2016. Not guilty of second-degree murder. Guilty of the lesser included offense of three counts of involuntary manslaughter, plus one count of reckless driving.¹¹¹²

The Sentence

Judge Hight sentenced Kania to 153 to 196 months in prison, effectively 12 to 16 years. He told the courtroom: “This case is about a 20-year-old man who got drunk and, despite the best efforts of his friends, drove and killed three people and injured a 9-year-old little girl. Mr. Kania, what you’ve done represents the worst nightmare of every parent.”⁹ He also reportedly said that “stupid has a high price.”¹⁰

Jahmonie Smith, whose mother Felecia Harris and daughter Jahnice Beard were both killed, told the court: “Justice wasn’t served for them. My daughter was 6. She just basically turned 6, and she didn’t get a chance to live and enjoy herself, and that was taken from her by him.”⁹ Family members said publicly that they did not consider the sentence sufficient.

Civil Suits and the Bars

The victims’ families filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming Kania, his parents, and the two Chapel Hill bars, He’s Not Here and La Residence. The complaint alleged “gross negligence for the safety of others” in serving alcohol to Kania when he was underage, and pointed to prior Alcohol Law Enforcement investigations into underage sales at both bars in the 18 months before the crash.¹³

By early 2017, Kania’s parents and He’s Not Here had reached undisclosed settlements and were removed as defendants.¹⁴ In April 2017, a judge allowed the plaintiffs to add 15 new defendants, including the UNC chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, eight fraternity alumni board members, and several of Kania’s friends. Aditya Shah and Alexander Pugh were accused of buying Kania alcohol before the crash; Rebecca Greene and Kelly Lucas were to be added for hosting a gathering where he drank. An attorney for the families said the aim was accountability “even if it’s not criminal responsibility.”¹⁵ Trial was set for February 2018 if further settlements were not reached, with La Residence still a defendant.

Both bars also faced administrative action from the North Carolina Alcohol Beverage Control Commission. He’s Not Here was charged with failing to verify the age of three underage patrons, including Kania, and with aiding underage possession of alcohol; investigators said checking identification only at the door rather than at the point of sale was “pretty standard” there.¹⁶ The bar reached an agreement with the Commission and served a three-week permit suspension.¹⁷ The ABC Commission rejected an initial offer in compromise with La Residence, and that administrative case remained unresolved as of the last available reporting.¹⁸

1
WRAL. Friends Testify About Night Leading to Fatal Wrong-Way Crash
2
Chapelboro. Testimony: Chandler Kania Fought Off Friends Trying to Stop Him From Driving Before Fatal Wrong-Way Crash
3
Chapelboro. Attorney: Jury Must Decide if Chandler Kania Is a Murderer
4
ABC11. DA: Marijuana in Student’s System Night of Fatal Crash
5
WRAL. Wrong-Way Crash Survivor Released From Hospital
6
NC Department of Public Safety. Troopers File Charges Against Driver Involved in Orange County Triple Fatal Collision on I-85
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WRAL. Grand Jury Indicts UNC Student on Murder Charges in Wrong-Way Crash
8
ABC11. UNC Student Indicted on All Charges in Wrong-Way Crash
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WRAL. Jury Convicts Former UNC Student of Manslaughter in Wrong-Way Crash
10
Daily Tar Heel. Chandler Kania Case
11
Chapelboro. Chandler Kania Found Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter
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WCTI12. Jury Finds Former UNC Student Guilty of Involuntary Manslaughter
13
WXII12. 2 Chapel Hill Bars Named in I-85 Wrongful Death Lawsuit
14
CBS17. Some Settlements Reached in Kania Civil Suits
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CBS17. Fraternity Friends Among 15 New Defendants to Be Added to Kania Civil Lawsuit
16
Chapelboro. Closing Time for He’s Not Here
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Chapelboro. Cases Against La Res and He’s Not Here Moving Forward
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Chapelboro. ABC Commission Rejects Offer in Compromise With La Res