Pedestrian killed on uptown Charlotte highway early Saturday, driver charged with DWI
A pedestrian was killed on Brookshire Freeway in uptown Charlotte just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday, and police arrested the driver on a charge of driving while impaired.
Police identified the pedestrian as 25-year-old Deonte Lamar Wilkins. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Wilkins was crossing a poorly lit part of the highway between Graham Street and Interstate 77 when he was hit by a Toyota Camry, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police news release.
The Camry driver, headed northwest, appeared to be within the posted 50-mph limit but “was unable to avoid striking the pedestrian,” according to the release.
The driver, 30-year-old Tucker Ryan Rhodes, was released from jail by a magistrate on $1,000 bail, according to jail records. Rhodes remained at the scene, police said.
Brookshire Freeway is the official name of I-277/N.C. 16 in uptown.
Other drivers crashed trying to avoid the collision, police said, but no injuries were reported.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or Detective Andrew Oberer with the CMPD Major Crash Investigation Unit at 704-432-2169.
This story was originally published October 19, 2019 at 5:43 PM.