Crash closes intersection for hours Sunday, results in DUI arrest

A two-vehicle crash caused major delays Sunday at one of Northport’s busiest intersections.

Northport Police responded to crash at the intersection of McFarland Boulevard and Highway 69 North around 3:30 a.m.

Two vehicles were involved and three people were injured — one critically.

Justin Gachoya, 20, was driving the vehicle investigators say caused the crash.

“He had been out with some friends drinking also had possibly done some other substances as well and that is how he was intoxicated,” said Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes Unit Capt. Marty Sellers. “It is just a sad situation for everyone involved, not just for the victims but also the driver who is young as well. Sometimes we make choices we should have rethought when we were young and that appears to be the case here. ”

Sellers said VCU is handling this case because of the charges involved.

“In a case where DUI or some kind of impairment is involved and there is a substantial injury, that charge is going to be a felony assault,” he said. “We work in conjunction with the accident reconstruction unit who specialize in the reconstruction of serious accidents such as this and of course our specialty is violent crime. Just like in any case we work, we are going to be thorough and get all the evidence that we need. Obviously, it was upsetting for people trying to get to church and other places, but you have to understand that we have a job that we have to be thorough and take care of everything we have to do. While we hate to inconvenience the public, the greater good was making this case.”

Gachoya’s passenger was airlifted to UAB, where they are in critical but stable condition.

Gachoya was booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail on three counts of assault and one DUI charge with a total bond of $38,000.