Teen admits driving drunk was precursor to accident that destroyed home

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A teenager admits she was driving drunk when she slammed her car into a Gaston County house.

She said Friday she had been worried she might have killed her friend, who was in the car with her at the time of the accident. She spent the day apologizing to the man whose home she destroyed.

“Is this your house, sir? I’m so sorry,” said Shasta Adams as she apologized to Phil Wyatt for the crash that destroyed his home and the body shop attached to it.

“Accidents happen,” Wyatt told her. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

Adams cried as she looked inside the house. The last time she saw the house was Thursday, when she drove into it.

“That was honestly the worst feeling I have ever had in my life,” she said.

The 17-year-old admitted she skipped class at Gaston College and was drinking with friends at a nearby home. She and her friend were on their way back to school when Adams drove off of Puetts Chapel Road at 75 mph.

She said she does not remember the car flipping several times or hitting the house.

“All I remember is waking up and coughing up brick dust,” she said.

Adams said she tried to wake her friend and passenger, 19-year-old Taylor Rosenbec. He did not respond.

“I thought I killed him. I wouldn’t have been able to live with that,” she said.

She said he suffered a punctured lung.

Thursday night, she apologized at the hospital before state troopers handcuffed her scarred wrists.

The accident marked the second time Adams has been charged with underage drinking.

“I was the idiot that done it. I deserve it. I shouldn’t have my license if I am going to act like that,” she said.

She added her accident should be a lesson to all underage drinkers with a license.

“Don’t do it. Y’all might not come out as lucky as we did,” she said.

Wyatt said he is living with friends and family while repairs are made to his home. He is waiting to see when Adams’ insurance will help him replace his home and business.

Rosenbec is going to stay in the hospital through the weekend, officials said.

WSOC