Friend talks about night of drunkenness leading up to fatal crash

ATLANTA — Two weeks after a head-on wreck on Georgia 400 in Buckhead, Channel 2 Action News tracked down the lone survivor, Beyonica Watts, of Marietta.

"I'm fine," Watts told Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant. "God is on my side. I am fine."

Watts was in the passenger seat of a Toyota Camry driven by her friend, Frampere Ingle. Atlanta police said Ingle blew past several warning signs and got on Georgia 400 at Lenox Road going the wrong way.

"Frampere looked at me and told me that the best thing I can do is try to get us to safety," Watts recalled. "We was this close to the emergency lane when we wrecked."

Watts ended up at a hospital, but the crash killed Ingle and Eric Hanks, the driver of the other car.

"She got lost," Watts said. "We had been driving for over an hour on and off the highway."

Watts admitted she and Ingle had been drinking at the Pearl Bistro in southwest Atlanta earlier that night.

Diamant confirmed a Fulton County sheriff's deputy who was working security at the club took Ingle's car keys and gave them to one of the women's friends.

"She said she was going to drive us home; she did not drive us home," Watts said.

Watts said their friend abandoned both women at a gas station just a few blocks away.

"She dropped us off in the car and gave Frampere back the keys," Watts said. "That's how Frampere started driving."

Channel 2 Action News also confirmed the car Ingle was driving was owned by James Jacobs, an 81-year-old retiree from Marietta.

When Diamant showed up at Jacobs' home, Jacobs, also known as "JJ," refused to answer any questions.

"I don't know anything about the wreck," Jacobs said. "Leave me alone. I don't mean to be rude, but I'm serious."

Diamant asked Watts how the women wound up in Jacob's car.

"He took care of Frampere," Watts replied. "That's how we ended up his car."

Neither Watts nor Jacobs would explain exactly what that meant.

Watts also gave Diamant the name of her friend who left her and Ingle at the gas station, but Diamant has not yet been able to speak with her.

Meanwhile, Diamant also met with the sheriff's deputy who took Ingle's keys. He told Diamant he did so because he felt Ingle had had too much to drink.

However, the Sheriff's Office would not allow Channel 2 Action News to interview the deputy, because Atlanta police are still investigating the crash.

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