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A woman was struck and killed Friday morning while walking on southbound Interstate 85 in west Charlotte, authorities say.
The victim was hit shortly after 8 a.m. between Billy Graham Parkway and Little Rock Road by cars either in the left lane or in the median lane.
The N.C. Highway Patrol said the case was being handled as a suicide and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were conducting the investigation. Troopers told reporters at the scene that a suicide note was found on the highway.
Police have not released the victim’s name, but a man who identified himself as a relative of the victim told reporters that the woman had been struck by two vehicles. He said she apparently had been trying to cross the eight-lane highway.
A man said his relative was driving an SUV that struck the woman. He told WCNC-TV, the Observer’s news partner, that the woman appeared to jump in front of the vehicle. Troopers said motorists had made several 911 calls about a woman walking in travel lanes of I-85 shortly before the victim was struck.
It’s the second death in four months of a person walking along I-85 in west Charlotte.
Shirley Pharr, 76, of Charlotte was struck and killed on the morning of Sept. 19 while walking in the southbound lanes near Glenwood Drive, about three miles from the site of Friday morning’s death. Pharr had been reported missing a day earlier, and family members said she was suffering from dementia.
On Nov. 12, a man was struck and injured while walking along I-85 in north Charlotte. Observer photographer Davie Hinshaw and WCNC-TV contributed.
