Pa. man convicted in earlier fatality charged in deadly Charlotte wreck

A Pennsylvania man convicted of fatally hitting someone in 2004 now faces charges of death by motor vehicle and DWI in connection with a west Charlotte wreck Wednesday night that took the life of a 72-year-old woman.

The suspect, Christopher Ryan Goss, 31, also has a driving under the influence conviction in Pennsylvania in 2009, records show. Police said he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.162, twice the state’s legal limit, local media reported at the time.

Alcohol and reckless driving were contributing factors in the Wilkinson Boulevard wreck near the Mecklenburg-Gaston County line at the Catawba River, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Police said Thursday they charged Goss with driving while impaired and have obtained warrants for felony death by motor vehicle, felony serious injury by motor vehicle and careless and reckless driving.

At 6:23 p.m., Goss was driving a gold 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck westbound on Wilkinson Boulevard near Moores Chapel Road when he crossed the double yellow line into oncoming traffic, police said. The truck hit a 2013 blue Hyundai Elantra head-on.

After that collision, a third vehicle was involved in the crash. That driver, Gary Gourley, 61, received minor injuries, police said.

The Hyundai’s driver, Shannon Hinson Young, who turns 45 on Friday, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center with serious injuries. She was listed in good condition Thursday afternoon.

Joyce Burline Hinson, Young’s front-seat passenger, was also taken to CMC, where she was pronounced dead at 7:14 p.m. Wednesday, police said. Young and Hinson apparently lived together in Charlotte, records show, but it was not immediately clear how they might be related.

Goss was also taken to CMC with serious injuries.

Records show his last known address was Somerset, Pa., about an hour east of Pittsburgh. Charles Goss, 40, of Charlotte, said Christopher Goss is his brother and was living with him here. He said that his brother had been discharged from the Carolinas Behavioral Health system about a week ago after being treated for several days for fatigue, insomnia and psychiatric problems, and that he was taking medication.

“I feel awfully bad about what happened,” Charles Goss said. “My heart goes out to the other families.” He said their mother had been murdered in 1992 and that Christopher Goss had “more burdens” than most people. “He had a lot going on,” he said.

Pennsylvania crimes

In early 2005, Goss pleaded guilty in Somerset County to involuntary manslaughter and careless driving, records show.

State police said Goss was part of a trio of men who had gotten into an altercation with James Crosley, 38, and others outside shortly after midnight in May 2004, the (Somerset) Daily American reported. As Goss and the others with him tried to leave in their car, Crosley punched one of them through an open window, the paper reported.

It stated Goss backed up the car, hit several bystanders then pulled forward and ran over Crosley, who later died. Charles Goss disputed that account and said he and his brother, who was 19 at the time, were in a car and had been surrounded by 10 people with bricks and bats. He said they were scared and trying to get away and were not aware that anyone had been hit as they drove away.

Goss was originally sentenced to 11  1/2 months to 23 months in jail, followed by two years of supervised probation, the paper reported. He was released after serving nearly a year in jail.

But Goss was charged with several new crimes while on probation, records show, including disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. In the 2009 DUI case, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to between five days and six months in jail.

Goss was re-sentenced to three to 12 months in jail in the Crosley case; one of his probation conditions was that he avoid criminal activity, the paper stated. In 2012, records show he pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of children, records show.

Observer researcher Maria David contributed.

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 6:02 AM with the headline "Pa. man convicted in earlier fatality charged in deadly Charlotte wreck."