STATESVILLE, N.C. — Tuesday marks one year since three people, including two children, were killed when an alleged drunk driver crashed into a golf cart in Statesville.
Michael Marlowe, Bentley Marlowe and Jada Marlowe were killed in the crash. Three other passengers were injured. The suspect, Austin Ray Harmon, is facing numerous charges including multiple counts of felony death by vehicle and DWI.
"That's a very undescribable day," one witness told WCNC Charlotte about the crash, which happened along Fort Dobbs Road a little before 10 p.m. on June 13, 2022.
State troopers said Harmon's Honda Accord crossed the center line and hit the golf cart head-on. Four passengers on the cart were airlifted to hospitals in Charlotte and Winston-Salem in critical condition. Jada Marlowe, who was 13, died at the hospital from her injuries.
On Tuesday, the victim's family reflected on the year.
“I don’t know how to explain it, it's this gut-wrenching feeling some days, but then some days you feel their presence but all they would want is our happiness,” Breanna Mills said.
Some of that happiness was taken away, on June 13, 2022. Breanna Mills describes a phone call she received that day.
"I’m like, what’s going on? He’s like, 'Golf cart versus car accident,' I just hung up the phone, and I knew, I knew at that moment,” Breanna Mills said.
It was a moment Breanna Mills will never forget. Jada, Bentley, and Michael were dead. Three others were injured, including Breanna Mills' sister Amy Mills and her daughter.
“Amy doesn’t look good, and I just thought I was going to lose my best friend after losing all the other people that I loved, then I was going to lose her,” Breanna Mills said.
Today, Amy Mills is still alive, but at times, the future seemed uncertain.
“She is a miracle, and she is a testimony, I have never seen anything like this, even her nurses say it," Breanna Mills said.
Amy Mills still deals with the wounds but has come to peace with life and death. On the one-year anniversary, the family remembered their loved ones at Iredell Memorial Gardens.
Breanna Mills said Jada was outgoing and happy. Bentley was a humorous, loving boy who left a big impact and loved Spiderman. Michael would give you the shirt off his back and he was funny.
The family now turns their grief into gratitude for each other.
“Life’s so short, you don’t know when you’re going to lose that person,” Breanna Mills said.
As for Harmon, he was later released from jail on a $310,000 bond but was then charged in another alcohol-related incident. A judge modified the conditions of his pre-trial release to include no drugs or alcohol use before he goes on trial for the crash.
Meanwhile, the family of the victims are still trying to process their loss.
"Day-by-day struggle, honestly," one person said. "It's called the afterlife."
The family told WCNC Charlotte they will be in the courtroom when Harmon stands trial. And while they know nothing will bring back their loved ones, they believe justice needs to be served in this case.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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