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Driver who hit Charlotte bus on Central Avenue dies after wreck

The scene on Central Avenue in east Charlotte on Saturday afternoon following a crash involving a CATS bus.
The scene on Central Avenue in east Charlotte on Saturday afternoon following a crash involving a CATS bus. Courtesy of WBTV

A driver who apparently suffered “a medical event” before hitting a car and a CATS bus on Central Avenue Saturday died shortly after the wreck, police say.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police identified the driver as Karen Frierson, 54. She was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center-Main, they said. Frierson’s passenger, 62-year-old Ida Bell, was taken to CMC-Main with injuries that were not life threatening.

Police say Frierson was driving a 2011 Ford Escape east on Central when she had medical problems. She reportedly rear-ended a 2013 Ford Fusion on the 900 block of Central, then hit the back of a bus stopped at a light at Central and Louise Avenue.

The bus driver and the driver of the Fusion were not injured. Two of 13 passengers on the bus were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life threatening.

Anyone who saw the crash or has information about it is asked to call Detective Sammis, 704-432-2169, or Crime Stoppers, 704-334-1600.

Ann Doss Helms: 704-358-5033, @anndosshelms

This story was originally published October 2, 2016 at 11:20 AM with the headline "Driver who hit Charlotte bus on Central Avenue dies after wreck."

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