‘He was everything’: Search underway for car that hit Charlotte motorcyclist on I-485
A 40-year-old Charlotte father of three described as “a tremendous leader” with a “can-do” spirit is being mourned after authorities said a hit-and-run driver killed him on Interstate 485 on Sunday morning.
Cedric Latrone Jacobs was riding a motorcycle when he was hit about 8:50 a.m. on I-485 Outer Loop, near mile marker 12. Mile marker 12 is near Exit 12, Moores Chapel Road in northwest Charlotte.
Jacobs died during emergency surgery at a hospital that night, according to a news release by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
Troopers are searching for the driver of a dark gray, 2011-2012 Honda Accord suspected of hitting Jacobs.
The Honda hit the back of a vehicle before swerving into the next lane and sideswiping Jacobs’ trike-style motorcycle, according to the Highway Patrol.
The collision hurled the motorcycle into a concrete bridge wall, troopers said. Jacobs was ejected after the bike overturned several times before hitting median cables, officials said.
Troopers believe the Honda driver may be from the Charlotte area, as the car had a Honda of Concord front license plate. Its entire front bumper will be missing, troopers said.
Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the Honda Accord is asked to call the Highway Patrol Troop H District 5 office in Huntersville at 980-224-6070.
Wife: He was a ‘people person’
Rayetta Jacobs described her husband as “a people person. He loved life, loved to travel, loved is family. He loved his wife.”
She was 15 when they met, Rayetta Jacobs said. They were married for 13 years and had three boys, now 19, 17 and 11, she said.
“He was an awesome man, an awesome husband,” she told the Observer. “He was everything.”
Led plasma donation center
Jacobs worked for 12 years at Charlotte-based Octapharma Plasma, which operates 162 plasma donation centers nationwide, the company told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday.
He led the Octapharma Plasma center on Reagan Drive, off West Sugar Creek Road, in northeast Charlotte.
Jacobs was among only four center directors nationwide given the elevated title of senior center director because of his outstanding performance and dedication, Brian Robinson, Octapharma Plasma regional director based in Little Rock, Arkansas, told the Observer.
That title reflected how Jacobs was “a tremendous leader,” Hewitt said. “He was high-energy, high-commitment.”
‘Full of positive energy’
Jacobs called Robinson last Saturday, and the pair spent an hour and 23 minutes discussing various matters, Robinson said.
“Rain, sleet or snow, he was always available,” Robinson said. “Always on the ready, so full of positive energy.”
“I never heard him say “no’ or ‘I can’t,’” Robinson said. “’I’ll make it happen.’ That’s who he is.”
“I called him ‘Can-do’ because, no matter the request, he got it done,’ Robinson said. “’I’ll take care of it,’ he’d say, and he always did.”
Jacobs also had a laugh so infectious it made everyone around him laugh, and a great rapport with people, Robinson said.
A celebration of life gathering is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday at the Octapharma Plasma location Jacobs directed, at 5108 Reagan Drive.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 10:53 AM.