CHARLOTTE — A teen driver had a form of THC in his system during a crash that killed a family of five in July 2025 on Interstate 485 in southwest Charlotte, the National Transportation Safety Board reported.
The NTSB found that 16-year-old Logan Sauer, who was driving the vehicle that caused the collision, never stepped on the brake before the impact.
The crash involved Sauer’s vehicle colliding with a minivan, which forced both cars into the path of a parked tractor-trailer. Investigators determined that Sauer had Delta 9 THC in his blood.
The toxicological analysis showed that both his blood and urine were positive for Delta 9 (12.6 ng/mL and 6.7 ng/mL, respectively), the NTSB report indicated. For perspective, peak plasma concentrations of 100-200 ng/mL are routinely encountered shortly after smoking. Those concentrations decline rapidly and are often less than 5 ng/ML at three hours.
Both vehicles involved in the collision were traveling at speeds exceeding 60 mph when they struck the truck.
Another teenager in the van was the only survivor.
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