Pedestrian injured and power cut to some during chase in south Charlotte, CMPD says
A police chase in south Charlotte led to an arrest, an injured pedestrian going to the hospital, multiple damaged vehicles and a power outage Monday morning, according to authorities.
Shortly before 11 a.m., Charlotte-Mecklenburg police got a license plate reader hit near the 4900 block of South Boulevard for a vehicle wanted in connection with a previous crime. When officers approached, the vehicle drove off. Responding officers initially did not engage in a pursuit, police said in statement.
CMPD’s aviation unit was on scene and kept the vehicle in sight as it drove erratically. Once the suspect vehicle began traveling in the 400 block Starbrook Drive — about 2 1/2 miles south — police found out that it had struck a pedestrian and fled the scene. Officers on the ground then chased the vehicle, as it continued on South.
The suspect vehicle struck several vehicles before crashing in the 4900 block of South, outside an employment agency, police said.
The driver was detained at the crash location, police said. The pedestrian and the occupants of the other vehicles were treated for non-life-threatening injuries by Medic, police said.
As of 12:30 p.m., South Boulevard from Inwood Drive to Seneca Place, just south of Woodlawn Road, is shut down, police said.
The car also damaged at least three utility poles, knocking out power to about 30 customers, Duke Energy said. Power was restored Monday afternoon.
Police did not say why the vehicle was wanted.
Oscar Covarrubias, president of Latin Labor Staffing, said he wasn’t at the employment agency when the chase happened. When he did arrive, he said there was a lot of police, the power was out and his agency’s sign was damaged.
“I hope they fix it,” he said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2021 at 2:40 PM.
