Police investigate single-vehicle crash that killed a 21-year-old in West Asheville

A 21-year-old man was killed following a rollover vehicle crash early Tuesday in West Asheville, authorities said days after finding an empty vehicle that crashed along Interstate 240. Asheville police said they were called around 1:10 a.m. Tuesday to the area of I-240 West and Amboy Road for a report of a crash involving a 2007 Toyota Corolla. Additionally, a witness to the crash told investigators they saw "an individual walking away from the vehicle shortly after the collision," according to a statement from Rick Rice, spokesman for the Asheville Police Department. Although they found a wallet containing identification and they proceeded to search the area, no one was immediately located. But hours later, around 9:15 a.m., a pedestrian along Virginia Avenue reported "seeing a body in dense underbrush along an embankment," Rice said in the statement. Investigators ultimately determined the body was that of Colby Dwayne Owens, 21. "The victim was identified using the wallet and identification found in the vehicle," Rice said in an email. Preliminary findings suggest Owens was traveling west on I-240 "when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle departed the right side of the roadway and struck the guardrail," police said. The car then careened across all westbound lanes, hitting the guardrail before rolling over and coming to rest down the embankment, officials said, adding that Owens was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover. Anyone with additional information about the wreck is asked to contact APD at (828) 252-1110.