Teen seriously hurt in DUI crash

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Two teens were hospitalized following a single-vehicle crash on June 16 where alcohol was a factor.

The incident occurred around 3:45 a.m. in the 4400 block of Revere Drive in the Salem Woods community of Virginia Beach. The driver of the 2000 Buick Sentry involved in the accident is 18-year-old Carter Womick. He has been charged with DUI and illegal possession of alcohol and remains in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

WAVY.com did some digging and found Womick was also charged with purchase and possession of alcohol this past April. He paid an $86 fine and his license was not suspended.

His passenger, Meaghan Gerety, remains at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital because of the severity of her injuries.

"I just saw her Monday at school laughing and hanging out with everybody at P.E.," Gerety's friend Taylor Demarco said.

Gerety and Demarco are cheerleaders together at Salem High School.

"I feel like they're in the mindset, oh, it's not going to happen to me. It's what happens to everyone else," said Demarco.

Fatal Crash Team investigators have learned that neither occupant was wearing a seatbelt when the Buick was traveling at a high rate of speed and struck a tree.

The case remains under investigation.