News update:

Reyes charged with second degree murder in vehicular death
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@highcountrymedia.net

Further investigation into the fatal collision Friday night has led officers of the Boone Police Department to file additional charges against Juan Manuel Juarez Reyes, 24, of Boone.

Reyes has been charged with second degree murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Reyes has been in custody since the accident, which caused the death of Andrew “Drew” Newell, a 22-year-old Watauga High School graduate.

Reyes was initially charged with driving while impaired, no operator's license and three counts of felonious causing serious injury by vehicle.

The accident occurred at 11 p.m. Friday, as the Newell family was returning home from a holiday with family in South Carolina.

The Lexus, driven by Sallie Newell, was stopped on N.C. 105 waiting to turn left onto Poplar Hill Drive.

Brian Newell was riding in the passenger seat, and two of the couple's children, Drew Newell and Jacqueline “Jackie” Newell, were in the back seat.

Reyes is alleged to have been driving while intoxicated and speeding, when the Ford Explorer he was driving slammed into the rear of the Newell vehicle.

The Lexus was pushed 250 feet on N.C. 105, where it came in contact with a Ford patrol car, driven by sheriff's deputy Perry Scot Brown.

“The sheriff's office had received a call from a citizen reporting a suspected impaired driver. Deputies take those reports very seriously and Brown was investigating the area when the accident occurred,” said Patrol Captain Kelly Redmon of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office.

The Newell family was trapped in wreckage, as members of the Boone Fire Department, Watauga Medics and Watauga Rescue worked 45 minutes to extricate them.

Both Sallie and Jackie Newell were transported to Watauga Medical Center, where they were treated and released the same night. Sources report Jackie, 18, suffered severe facial fractures.

Brian and Drew Newell were airlifted to Johnson City (Tenn.) Regional Medical Center, where Drew later died from injuries. Brian Newell’s condition has been upgrade from critical to serious, though sources report he suffered severe head injuries.

A passenger in the Ford Explorer, Helen Oberlies, was also transported to the Watauga Medical Center and was treated and released.

Upon Reyes’ arrest, Boone Police contacted the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and discovered that he is in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant. ICE indicated Reyes was caught by a border patrol in 2002 while attempting to enter the United States, and was returned to Mexico at that time.

Procedure is cases of an illegal immigrant charged with criminal activity states the individual is to serve out the punishment in the U.S., followed by immediate deportation.

The arrest report indicated Reyes was employed as a carpenter with Timber Structure Builders of Boone.

Timber Structure Builders could not be contacted as of posting this article to comment on Reyes' employment.

Reyes is currently being held in the Watauga County Detention Center. Bond has been set at $1 million. His court date has not yet been determined.