Teenager killed, five people injured in multi-car wreck overnight in west Charlotte

An 18-year-old was killed and five people were injured early Sunday after a car ran a red light at the intersection of West Boulevard and Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Police said Roberto Juarez Ruiz, 24, was driving a Dodge Charger on West Boulevard just after 2:15 a.m. when he encountered a red light at the Billy Graham Parkway intersection. He didn’t stop, police said, and ran into the passenger side of a BMW in the intersection.

Destani Breanna May, 18, was sitting in the front passenger seat of the BMW, police said. She was pronounced dead at Carolinas Medical Center about 30 minutes after the crash.

The BMW’s driver, 18-year-old Zandria Lumanu Sapu, was injured in the crash, as were Ruiz and both of his passengers.

After the initial collision, the BMW struck a Dodge Avenger traveling southbound on Billy Graham Parkway. The driver of the Avenger had minor injuries.

Ruiz was charged with felony death by motor vehicle, driving without a license and driving under the influence, police said.

Sapu was charged with driving after consuming alcohol under the age of 21, police said.

This story was originally published December 10, 2017 at 1:30 PM with the headline "Teenager killed, five people injured in multi-car wreck overnight in west Charlotte."