Man in wheelchair hit by car, killed while crossing street in Charlotte

A man in a wheelchair was hit by a car and killed while he was crossing the street in Charlotte Saturday night.

According to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, the incident happened in the 4200 block of Shamrock Drive around 7 p.m.

The man in the wheelchair was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, but later died from his injuries while at the hospital. He was identified as 61-year-old Michael Ellis.

Officers responded the scene and located a van with left front corner damage in the road with Ellis lying in front of the vehicle.

A damaged wheelchair was also located in the road. Officers with the DWI Task Force, Crime Scene Investigators, were called to the scene to conduct the investigation.

The initial investigation has revealed that the driver of the van approached the intersection of Crestmont Drive, while Ellis, attempted crossing Shamrock Drive.

Ellis was in a wheelchair and was crossing mid-block between side streets. There were no marked crosswalks or pedestrian crossing signals in the area.

The van driver did not see Ellis and struck the wheelchair with the front left corner of the vehicle as it crossed the roadway. The driver got out of his vehicle to check on the Ellis and called 911.

The van driver was screened for impairment on scene with no signs of impairment detected. Speed or alcohol are not contributing factors in this crash.

This is an ongoing and active investigation.

Any person who witnessed the crash or has information about the case is asked to call officers at 704- 432-2169 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.