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'Uncalled for' fatal wrong-way wreck saddens victim's sister

56-year-old Darrell Guilliams lost his life after Kara Wakefield collided with him going the wrong way on I-40.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn — It was uncalled for--that's how the sister of a man killed in a wrong-way crash on I-40 feels about what happened.

Now, she's waiting for the driver who witnesses say swerved into him to be charged.

The police report says Kara Wakefield was driving the wrong way and was trying to hit other cars.

Credit: Loudon County Sheriff's Office
Kara D. Wakefield, 30, taken after her November 2018 DUI arrest in Loudon County.

She collided with Darrell Guilliams, 56, on I-40 near the Liberty Street overpass on May 4, according to police.

RELATED: Witnesses say woman driving wrong-way on I-40 intentionally caused crash

His sister, Linda Guilliams Bunch, says Guilliams was a jokester and someone who was kind to everyone.

Credit: WBIR

Bunch remembers their final conversation over the phone well.

"Okay, you be careful tonight," Bunch remembers. "'I love you.' And I said 'I love you, too.' And those were the last words."

The words will stick with Bunch forever.

"He had a lot of life left to live, to have it tragically taken like that," Bunch said.

Guilliams was on his way to work when a car driving the wrong way swerved into him.

"Just the thought is terrifying," Bunch said. "It's my last member of my immediate family and it's just such a tragedy, and one that was uncalled for."

Bunch says her brother was a jokester who loved his dog Jojo and was kind to everyone.

"He was the youngest, and he was always saying the youngest child was the best looking, you know, just to aggravate," Bunch said.

She says one of the officers working the case offered some consolation.

"He told me that he thought it was an instant--that he died instantly, which is a blessing," Bunch said.

Wakefield was listed in serious condition at UT Medical Center in the days following the wreck.

"I don't want this girl to pass away, and I'm sorry she's hurt," Bunch said. "But she does need to stand up and take responsibility for killing my brother."

A brother, whose sister sees a bleaker future ahead.

"For myself--a lot of loneliness and missing my family," Bunch said.

Wakefield is now a "no info" patient at UT Medical Center, meaning we can't get an update on her condition.

The Knoxville Police Department says there is no update Monday on charges against her in the case.

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