Driver gunned down after cars crash on busy north Charlotte road

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Investigators said a driver was shot and killed Wednesday night after a crash that could be tied to road rage.

Police were called to West Sugar Creek Road near North Tryon Street around 8:45 p.m. for an accident involving two vehicles.

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When officers got there, they found a man, identified as 37-year-old Richard Clements, in the parking lot who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officials told Channel 9's Dashawn Brown the victim got into an argument with the other driver after the two vehicles crashed.

They said Clements approached the driver in the other car and that driver shot him.

Police have not released the other driver’s name, but they told Channel 9 he stayed and tried to help after he pulled the trigger.

"From a humanitarian point of view that's absolutely what should have happened,” defense attorney Michael Greene said.

Greene said that doesn't mean the district attorney will give him a pass.

"Whether it's going to have any bearing on his act of pulling the trigger, I don't believe it will because the act had already happened,” Greene said.

Officers said they are interviewing the suspect and witnesses. No charges have been filed.

Channel 9 saw nearly a dozen patrol cars as investigators roped off the area with crime scene tape.

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Police have not said if Clements was armed or if he made some kind of verbal threat to the other driver.

Greene said the district attorney could determine it was self-defense even if those things did not happen.

"I don't know what the person said, but sometimes your actions and your gestures can suggest to somebody they are getting ready to be accosted," Greene said.                   

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates.

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