CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A bus driver is facing charges in connection with a crash that killed a pedestrian in Uptown Charlotte Sunday evening, police said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police were called to the area of South Cedar Street and West 4th Street around 7 p.m. Sunday for a crash involving a pedestrian and a bus. When officers arrived, they found a person pinned underneath a 2013 Van Hool commuter coach bus.
Charlotte firefighters were called to the scene to free the pedestrian, who was rushed to Atrium Health Main with serious injuries. The pedestrian, identified as 19-year-old Destiny Vazquez, died at the hospital, according to CMPD.
CMPD officers determined that Vazquez was in the crosswalk and had right of way while crossing West 4th Street when the driver of the bus, 35-year-old Dominique Massey, took off from a green light and attempted to turn onto West 4th Street. Vazquez was hit and pinned underneath the bus.
There were no passengers on the bus and impairment was not a factor in the crash, according to CMPD. Massey was charged with failure to yield the right of way and misdemeanor death by motor vehicle.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family. Loved ones described Destiny as a vibrant young lady just getting her life started in her career at the culinary institute.
Johnson & Wales University provided the following statement regarding Vazquez, who was a student at the university:
“Johnson & Wales University grieves the loss of Charlotte Campus sophomore Marielena Vazquez, who will always be remembered as Destiny to her family and friends. A Baking & Pastry Arts major scheduled to graduate in May 2023, she was a warm and caring student who excelled in both her labs and academics. We share our deepest condolences and stand united with Marielena’s family. Additional counseling services have been made available to our JWU community."
Alexis Gamez, a student at the university, said she is shocked this happened so close to her hall.
"It's really sad to be quite honest with you," Gamez expressed. "Especially for the family. My heart goes out to them."
It's a crosswalk that gets plenty of foot and vehicle traffic.
"There’s a lot of students that walk around here," Gamez said. "Especially this road in particular, because this is our dorm hall and people live in here and they have to go to class."
"A lot of our classes are in that academic building over here," Kadan Brown, a JWU student, said. "So we pretty much have the cross the street almost every day."
An advocacy group said as the city continues to grow, more needs to be done to protect everyone who uses the road.
"It is seven times more likely to be killed or receive serious injury with shoes on than with wheels in Mecklenburg County," the Director of BikeWalkNC, Terry Lansdell, said. "This is a high crash area."
It's a crash he said was preventable.
"It’s not about if the pedestrian crossing the intersection saw the vehicle or not because they have the right away," Lansdell said. "Everything from the traffic signals and the legal aspect was in their favor. It was the driver's responsibility."
There are no turn-on red sign indicators, crosswalks and pedestrian signals at the intersection but the crash still happened.
Lansdell said education is a big factor.
"The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles grants the privilege to drivers, that is called the driver's license," Lansdell said. "I don’t think the DMV is doing enough to train our drivers properly."
BikeWalkNC offers courses to supplement driver education. The advocacy organization is also pushing for tougher punishment for distracted drivers.
"We work hard at BikeWalkNC to make sure that our laws for distracted driving are representative of the consequences of error," Lansdell said. "We think we can improve those laws and make it more challenging for the defense to use I didn’t see someone... If you didn’t see someone that means you weren't looking."
Meanwhile, students are more vigilant when crossing the street at that intersection.
"I don’t try to rush and just wait until there is an opening," Brown said. "I just don’t try to run across the street even if I'm in a rush."
No further information was provided by CMPD. Witnesses with information about this crash are asked to call CMPD's Crime Stoppers tip line at 704-334-1600.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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