Police investigating why driver ended up in wrong lanes before fatal I-79 crash

FRANKLIN PARK, Pa. — Two people were killed after a woman driving the wrong way on the interstate rammed into another vehicle early Friday morning.

Brandy Lamison, 31, was heading north in the southbound lanes of Interstate 79 around 3 a.m. in Franklin Park when she struck Justin Bowser's sedan about two miles north of the Mt. Nebo exit, police said.

Related: Wrong-way driver crashes into student charter bus on Pa. turnpike, 6 injured

Three other vehicles, including a water truck, also were involved, with one other driver suffering minor injuries.

The crash shut down the southbound lanes for hours. Investigators are still working to determine where Lamison go onto the interstate and why she was heading the wrong way.

“That would be part of the investigation; maybe through interviews of family members, friends, to find out where she was prior to this crash,” Trooper Melinda Bondarenka said.

Channel 11 spoke with some of the 20-year-old Bowser’s close friends by phone. They said he had been at Army basic training and was headed home to Fayette County to see family and friends for the Easter weekend.

"He had the biggest heart. He was such a sweet, sweet guy," said Samantha McGuier. "I think it’s crazy that somebody else’s bad decision caused Justin to lose his life."

It's unclear at this point whether alcohol, drugs or weather played a role in the crash.

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