GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Jonny Worthy's family members clutched a photograph of their loved one, who was killed in a suspected drunken driving crash.
The family is pushing for more charges against the driver, who faces only a DWI from the weekend crash.
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Jonny Worthy and Carol Hicks weren’t just cousins, they were lifelong best friends until the fatal accident claimed Worthy’s life Saturday morning.
“She had to watch her best friend die right beside of her,” Hicks’ son David Peterson said.
The two women were on their way to pick up a friend from work when a truck driven by Norman Dunaway crossed the center line on Garrison Boulevard and slammed into the driver's side of their vehicle, according to police.
Police said they found an open bottle of vodka in his truck.
Aliene Green is relieved that her daughter survived, but she is still devastated.
"You killed my cousin and you injured my daughter,” Aliene Green said, referring to Dunaway.
The district attorney plans to talk to the family members before he decides on charges for Dunaway.
The charges could go and high as second-degree murder.
Before they speak to the DA, the family wanted to send a message to Dunaway.
“I don't hate you. I just don't like your actions, what you did,” Hicks’ daughter Jamie Reep said.
They said Dunaway must face a severe punishment.
Channel 9 went to Dunaway’s home Tuesday. He said what he did was uncalled for.
"My grief is tremendous. It is something I will never get over,” he said.
He did not answer questions about the fatal wreck.
"I shouldn't have been on the road. Nobody needs to be on the road like that,” he told Channel 9.
Police expect to hand their case over to the DA on Wednesday.
While the victim's family waits for the police and prosecutors to complete their work they have planned memorial services for Worthy. Her wake will be Wednesday evening.
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