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

The car driving in the wrong direction "made an aggressive move" towards another vehicle, causing a crash that killed the driver.

Witnesses said the woman who caused a fatal crash while driving the wrong direction on Interstate 40 seemed to be intentionally trying to hit other vehicles, according to the police report.

Investigators said Kara D. Wakefield, 30, of Knoxville, was driving east in the westbound lanes of I-40 near the Liberty Street overpass in Knoxville early Saturday.

Her black Hyundai Elantra slammed into the gold Toyota Camry driven by Darrell Guilliams, 56, of Knoxville. Guilliams was killed in the crash, along with a dog in Wakefield's car.

Wakefield was taken to University of Tennessee Medical Center where she was in serious condition.

The driver of a third vehicle told police that he was a few seconds behind Guilliams' car and it "appeared that [the Elantra] made an aggressive move to try to intentionally strike [the Camry]" as they approached each other, according to the report. His car was hit from flying debris from the collision, but he was not hurt.

Two other witnesses were in an ambulance and encountered Wakefield's car near the Papermill Road exit, the report says. They said the Elantra "passed them traveling the wrong way on the interstate and had made an aggressive attempt to strike the ambulance" as it passed.

Julie Appel-Lockyear, a Guilliams co-worker, also said she was a witness. Appel-Lockyear said she was driving in front of Guilliams, although she didn't realize it was him, and that both were on their way to work when the crash happened.

She said she was "completely devastated" by Guilliams' death.

WBIR has learned Wakefield is a defendant in a DUI case from Nov. 28, 2018.

Loudon County authorities allege they stopped her after seeing her driving about 90 mph and then slowing to around 60 on Interstate 75.

When stopped, warrants state, she admitted she'd had several drinks and had smoked marijuana.

Wakefield also said she had marijuana in the car's console, the warrants state.

She faces a court hearing in that case in Loudon County later this month.

Guilliams' family was not ready to talk on camera but did provide 10News with a statement. 

"I do not want that girl to die, but I do think she needs to stand up and take responsibility for killing my brother," his sister Linda Guilliams Bunch said.

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