One dead in Wilkinson Boulevard wreck

A female passenger died Saturday when the speeding stolen car in which she was riding went off Wilkinson Boulevard near Crispin Avenue and smashed into a building, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Another female passenger was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, while the male driver was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said. Police will release the names of the three when their families are notified.

Shortly before 6:30 p.m., police monitoring traffic cameras spotted the stolen 2008 gold Kia Rio on Central Avenue, and traffic cameras helped police keep track of it. A police helicopter also responded.

The car pulled into a parking lot near Ashley Road and Wilkinson Boulevard. When an officer turned on his blue lights, the driver refused to stop and began speeding west on Wilkinson, police said. The officer immediately turned off his blue lights, pulled onto Wilkinson and obeyed all traffic laws, per department policy, police said.

The helicopter was overhead when the driver lost control and the car went off the right side of the road.

All lanes of Wilkinson were closed for hours as police investigated the wreck.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has information about the case is asked to call police Detective J.B. Reibold at 704-432-2169 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

This story was originally published September 12, 2015 at 7:26 PM with the headline "One dead in Wilkinson Boulevard wreck."