County Commissioner Greg Beck said he lost neighbors who were "lovely, beautiful people" in the wreck last Tuesday on Shallowford Road near Noah Reid Road.
Ike Long, 76, died at the scene. Commissioner Beck said word came on Monday afternoon that his wife, Alma Jean Long, had passed away as well.
He said the couple was a block away from their home - across from his own - when a streaking black BMW slammed into their silver Buick SUV.
After the BMW wrecked, police noticed that the speedometer was stuck on 95 mph. Witnesses said the car had been going at a high rate of speed in the middle lane and ran the light at Noah Reid Road.
The driver of the BMW, 20-year-old Tyrell Williams, was taken to the hospital, but he was arrested by police on New Year's Day and moved to the Silverdale Jail.
Police said he admitted to smoking marijuana before driving. There was a smell of marijuana from the car, and several marijuana blunts were found in the ash tray. A stolen gun was in the vehicle.
Williams did not have a driver's license or insurance. He faces a host of charges, including counts of vehicular homicide.
The passenger in the car driven by Williams was dead at the scene.
Commissioner Beck said he often sat on the porch at night talking with Ike Long, who was a Vietnam veteran and a Combustion retiree. He was a deacon at Missionary Ridge Baptist Church.
The Longs were parents of two daughters and a son, who is in the Chattanooga Fire Department.
Commissioner Beck said, "They were excellent neighbors. They would get engaged in the neighborhood and help people."
He said Alma Jean Long took it upon herself to make contact with a family on the street who had no other ties with neighbors.
"She took them Christmas presents," he said.