MAYSVILLE, Ky. (WXIX/Gray News) – A family is mourning the loss of a couple who was killed in a car crash while out Christmas shopping.
Joshua Mark Wells, 39, and his wife, Latasha Kay Wells, 44, were driving on AA Highway in Maysville, Kentucky, on Saturday when they were rear-ended, a preliminary investigation indicates.
According to the Kentucky State Police, the impact of the crash forced the Wells’ car to cross into opposing traffic and into the path of another car.
Both Joshua Wells and Latasha Wells were declared dead at the scene by the county coroner.
A family member said the Wells were inseparable and had an unimaginable love for kids and their family.
Hope Tully, Joshua Wells’ sister, said she talked with her brother and his wife before they were killed.
Tully said they were telling her about the Christmas shopping they had just done.
“He was telling me what he got my kids,” Tully said. ”He was so proud of what he got the kids for Christmas.”
She said she heard there was a crash near the area where they were shopping, so she tried to check in with the couple.
“I messaged my brother and said, ‘You all home?’ No answer,“ Tully said. ”And then I had texted him again and said, ‘There’s a wreck on AA and the road is shut down,‘ and no message back.”
The Christmas gifts and toys the couple had bought were scattered across the crash scene, Hannah Wells, another family member, said.
She said a firefighter picked up all the toys and brought them to her house.
“So family members could still have one last gift that Josh and Latasha had bought, and there’s no amount of gratitude that we can express,” Hannah Wells said.
Hannah Wells said the couple leaves behind Joshua Wells’ 12-year-old daughter. A GoFundMe was set up in order to help with funeral expenses and give his daughter an “amazing” Christmas.
The 31-year-old woman driving the car the Wells crashed into was airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and is in stable condition.
The driver of the vehicle investigators believe started the chain reaction by rear-ending the Wells was arrested.
William Darnell, 38, was charged with vehicular homicide, operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, assault in the first degree, wanton endangerment in the first degree, possession of marijuana and other traffic offenses, according to Kentucky State Police.
Although he refused to take a field sobriety test, a uniform citation from the Mason County Sheriff’s Office said he appeared extremely intoxicated, smelled strongly of alcohol, and had bloodshot eyes and slurred speech.
His brother, Colt Darnell, 37, who was his passenger at the time of the crash was also arrested and charged with being intoxicated in a public place and leaving the scene of an accident, which resulted in two fatalities.
According to a uniform citation, Colt is accused of hiding in a ditch “some distance from the collision scene.” He later admitted to officers that he was the passenger in a vehicle involved in a crash.
The citation said officers also noticed he was having trouble standing, slurring his words and smelled of alcohol.
A cup of what appeared to be alcohol was found in the vehicle the brothers were in, as well as marijuana.
Both men, from McKinney, Texas, are behind bars at the Mason County Detention Center. Colt Darnell was given a $50,000 cash bond, while William Darnell is in jail without bond.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Kentucky State Police Post 8 at 606-784-4127.
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