A  driver who left the scene of a fatal crash on N.C. Highway 33 on April 23 has been charged with felony hit and run this week. .

Two men, Austin Larry Nicholson McKay, 22, and Tyler James Hartzell, 20, were killed in the wreck. Diavontrel Dalshon Moore, of 1206 Cooper St. in Washington, was charged Monday with two counts of felonious hit and run involving death, as a result.

According to the collision report from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, McKay began passing Moore’s vehicle while traveling west on N.C. Highway 33 when the two vehicles made contact. NCSHP 1st Sgt. Gary Brown says it was unclear whether McKay began his pass before or after the road changed to a passing zone.

“We can’t really establish where he began his pass,” Brown said. “We couldn’t determine exactly where the collision actually occurred, whether it was on the south side, the north side or at the center line.”

Because they could not determine where the contact occurred, Brown says the agency has been unable to determine who was responsible for the accident, but that speed was a contributing factor in the wreck.

Both vehicles were traveling well over the 55-mph speed limit on that stretch of N.C. Highway 33. McKay’s speed was estimated at 90 miles per hour and Moore’s at 80 miles per hour when the impact occurred. The impact in turn caused McKay’s vehicle to go over the shoulder before swerving back into the center of the road. The car then struck a ditch embankment on the left side of the road, causing it to overturn.

McKay and  Hartzell were both ejected from the vehicle. Despite the efforts of first responders, McKay died at the scene. Hartzell died later that evening. A third passenger, Mason Pontius, was the only one in the vehicle wearing a seatbelt and walked away with no major injuries.

In the days following the accident, the NCSHP searched for the second vehicle, a black Dodge Challenger that was caught on surveillance footage at gas stations on either side of the wreck. The agency located and seized the vehicle earlier this month before charging Moore on Monday. Moore was detained in the Beaufort County Detention Center on a $25,000 secured bond and a $25,000 unsecured bond. He was released on bond and is scheduled to appear in court on May 23.