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Head-on crash in Charlotte leaves one person dead and another hospitalized, police say

A driver whom police said they suspect was speeding died in a head-on wreck in Charlotte early Saturday.

Shi-kerra Nicole Michelle Pickett, who turned 33 on Friday, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department news release.

The other driver, 58-year-old Etta Gorham Rhem, was hospitalized with serious but non-life threatening injuries, police said.

The drivers collided just before 5 a.m. in the 2700 block of Eastway Drive in east Charlotte, according to CMPD. Police did not say how fast Pickett was driving.

Pickett, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, drove out of her lane on northbound Eastway Drive and into oncoming traffic, hitting Rhem, who did have a seat belt on, police said.

Police urge anyone with information about the wreck to call CMPD at 704-432-2169, extension 2, or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 4:45 PM.

Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
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