Police: Driver arrested for hitting man in Uptown crosswalk, leaving scene

CHARLOTTE — A man told Channel 9 he was just minutes from his 19th birthday when police say a driver hit him in an Uptown Charlotte crosswalk and kept going. He survived the crash and spent his birthday in the hospital.

Victor Dos Santos said it happened Thursday. Now, a woman is facing charges for the hit-and-run.

“I’m just lucky,” Dos Santos said. “Just lucky.”

He told Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz it’s a miracle he’s alive to share his story.

“I clocked out, walked outside, and then woke up in the hospital,” Dos Santos said.

Through his wired-shut jaw, he told Sáenz he had just gotten off work at Chima, a Brazilian steakhouse in Uptown, when he went to cross West Fourth Street. That’s all he remembers before waking up in a hospital room.

Police said the driver never stopped.

“I also thank God himself. Because he was like, ‘Alright, Victor you’re saved today. A guardian angel is by your side,’” he said.

Dos Santos was rushed to the hospital. He’s thankful doctors and medical staff were able to stabilize him. He showed Sáenz his injuries, which include broken bones and fractures.

Witnesses helped police investigate the crash. One gave them video from a dashboard camera that showed the whole thing.

Court records say officers tracked the gold Honda CRV using their Real Time Crime cameras to a home in Wesley Heights a little more than a mile away. They knocked on the door and Rebecca Cline answered.

Court records say Cline admitted to driving the car on West Fourth Street within an hour of the incident and even admitted to seeing the pedestrian crossing the street.

Cline was arrested and charged. Dos Santos said he’s thankful.

“Please just don’t run away. At least try to help,” he said.

He told Sáenz he has no ill will towards the driver.

As for his recovery, Dos Santos said doctors told him it would be a few months before he is fully healed.

Rebecca Cline is charged with felony hit and run causing serious injuries. She is out on bond.

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