Wake County teacher was impaired, speeding in fatal crash near Garner, authorities say
A head-on crash Thursday night between two cars near Garner that ended in the deaths of both drivers may have resulted from a Wake County school teacher speeding while driving impaired, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Wake County Public Schools confirmed to ABC11 WTVD, The News & Observer’s news partner, that 28-year-old Lauren M. Stewart of Apex was a fourth-grade teacher at Garner Elementary School.
Lauren Stewart collided with 53-year-old Calvin Stewart when she crossed into the oncoming eastbound lane on Jones Sausage Road after 7:30 p.m., authorities said. The two are unrelated despite sharing a last name.
Lauren Stewart was the sole occupant in her Ford C-Max. Calvin Stewart was driving with four other people in a Chevrolet Suburban — two adults, a teenager and an infant, who have been hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, authorities said.
The Highway Patrol said it determined in a preliminary investigation that speed and alcohol on Lauren Stewart’s part contributed to the deadly crash. The investigation is continuing.
Lauren Stewart was a fourth-grade literacy teacher for the East Garner Elementary Explorers, according to her online teaching portfolio.
