North Carolina substitute teacher charged in ATV crash that killed 2 high school football players
A North Carolina substitute teacher has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deaths of two teenage boys who died in an ATV crash last year, authorities announced.
Ashley Marie Darity, 34, was arrested on Feb. 13 and charged with two counts of felony involuntary manslaughter in the Aug. 25, 2024, ATV accident that killed Layne Jones and Jayden Reynaldo, the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) division of North Carolina Department of Public Safety's said.
Jones and Reynaldo were both student football players at Rosman High School in Transylvania County, located about 40 miles southwest of Asheville.
The teens were driving an ATV on Old Wagon Road in Transylvania County around 1 a.m. on Aug. 25 when they went off the road, hit a tree and were ejected from the vehicle. They were pronounced dead at the scene, The Asheville Citizen-Times reported.
The ALE said Tuesday that speed and alcohol are believed to be factors in the crash.
Darity was arrested by ALE special agents. Officials did not disclose details of her relationship to the students nor what led to the charges.
Darity was a substitute teacher at Transylvania County Schools District, which includes Rosman, from October 2021 to December 2023, district spokesperson Tessa Brown said.
She was released from custody after posting $20,000 bond, according to online court filings. An attorney for her did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
Two other people were arrested in the investigation into the crash as well: Brandon Kaine Rathbone, 47, and Patricia Faye Whitehead, 33, both of Balsam Grove. It's not immediately clear if the two have retained lawyers.
They were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting a person less than 21 years of age in the possession and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages. The NCDPS said these arrests were "based on a previous incident discovered during this investigation that occurred at the same residence."
A warrant for arrest for Rathbone said the date of offense unfolded June 10, 2023. The warrant alleged he purchased a keg and hosted an underage house party. He and Whitehead allegedly held a female juvenile up to do a keg stand to consume the alcohol.
Whitehead's warrant further alleged she purchased Twisted Tea for a person under the age of 21 in February 2023.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing.
The district said in a press release on Aug. 25 that two Rosman students died in an accident, calling the deaths 'an unimaginable loss.' Rosman High School also shared photos of the two athletes in their football uniforms writing: 'Layne and Jayden have left an imprint on our hearts. We grieve together.'
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