SAVANNAH, Ga. — Police have charged a metro Atlanta man in connection to a 2017 wrong-way crash on Interstate 16 that killed two brothers headed back to school after Thanksgiving break.
On Nov. 26, 2017, Georgia State Patrol troopers said Jack Deacon Harris, 20, and Garrett Harris, 18, were traveling east around 1 a.m. on I-16 when a driver headed west slammed into the brothers' car, causing a fiery crash. The brothers, both Georgia Southern University students, died at the scene.
In an interview with the student newspaper The George Anne, the students' father, Jack Harris, said they were returning to campus from Atlanta after Thanksgiving break.
"They had a little bit of homework to finish up, wanted to spend time with their friends before classes started Monday, so they left to drive at night thinking traffic would be better and this accident happened," Jack Harris told the paper.
Shortly after the accident, authorities identified 28-year-old Jared Adler, of Sandy Springs, as the wrong-way driver. He was taken to a hospital in Macon for treatment.
Now, months later, Adler has finally been charged.
Authorities charged Adler with vehicular homicide and possession of drugs in connection to the crash, 11Alive's NBC affiliate WSAV in Savannah reported. He was arrested at a residence in south Savannah for warrants out of Laurens County, WSAV reports.
Shortly after the brothers' deaths, family and friends spoke of their shock and grief, and described the brothers as "friendly guys – really nice to be around."
"They all care about each other so much," the brothers' childhood friend Dennis Piecuch said. "They cared about everybody around them."
