North Mecklenburg High School football player charged in connection with a fatal crash

A North Mecklenburg High School football player has been charged in connection with a fatal crash that killed a young track star.

The head-on crash was reported Aug. 11 on McCoy Road in Huntersville.

Kalvin McCollum was driving and his girlfriend, Enjoneah Reel, who was a track star at North Meck, was killed in the crash.

Kim McCollum, Kalvin’s mother, said she’ll never forget the phone call she got after the crash.

“I got a phone call from the hospital saying my son had been in a severe car wreck,” she said.

She said her son suffered two punctured lungs, a lacerated liver and broken ribs in the accident.

Now, 30 days later, McCollum is charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, no operator’s license and reckless driving.

“This is crazy,” said Kim McCollum. “This is blowing my mind, and I think it is blowing a lot of other people’s minds too because I didn’t even know my son was being charged. I learned it from other people calling me about it.”

According to the accident report, McCollum crossed the center line on McCoy Road into the path of another car after first going off the road and then overcorrecting.

His mother claims that her son swerved to miss another car heading in the opposite direction. But she said police and her son have not talked.

In a statement sent to Channel 9, Huntersville police said:

“The officers of the Huntersville Police Department’s Traffic Safety Section made several attempts to speak with and interview Mr. McCollum. Under the advice of his attorney, the interview was not conducted.”

Kim McCollum said her son, who only had his driving permit, made a mistake by driving that day. The decision is one he regrets, she said.

“He’s more emotionally damaged now. (She) was not just his girlfriend, she was a best friend. She was a family member. We have known her for years,” she said about her son’s relationship with the 14-year-old victim.

Reel’s family declined to talk to Channel 9 Wednesday about the arrest.

Channel 9 asked Kim McCollum if her son will ever sit down with police. She said she’s following the advice of her attorney.

McCollum turned himself in to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office and was released on $5,000 bail.

Reel’s father said his daughter ranked No. 1 in the state in track in her freshman year. She would have been a sophomore this year.

Cox Media Group