Man charged with DWI after fatal northeast Charlotte crash

A driver was charged with driving while impaired after a single-car wreck in northeast Charlotte that killed a passenger in the car, authorities said.

Officers arrived to the crash on Austin Drive at N. Tryon Street at 1:48 a.m. Friday, where they found a Dodge Challenger on its roof. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver, 23-year-old Benjamin James Graves, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries, police said.

Detectives said Graves was driving fast on Austin Circle when he lost control of the car and drove off the left side of the road. The car struck a fence and a tree, before rotating into a telephone pole, and eventually landing on its roof, police said.

Graves was charged with driving while impaired. Police did not identify the passenger.

This story was originally published July 21, 2017 at 9:03 AM with the headline "Man charged with DWI after fatal northeast Charlotte crash."