CHARLOTTE — One person is dead and two others were seriously hurt after a crash in a construction zone on Interstate 85 in north Charlotte, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The three-vehicle crash happened around 1:15 a.m. on I-85 northbound near Statesville Avenue.
At 2:30 a.m., MEDIC told Channel 9 they pronounced one person dead at the scene of the crash and took two people to the hospital with serious injuries.
Troopers said the interstate was down to one lane for overnight construction when a vehicle rear ended another vehicle stopped in the traffic. The vehicle that was hit then crashed into another car in front of it.
A passenger in the backseat of the vehicle that was first hit died on impact, according to troopers.
The driver of the vehicle that rear ended the stopped cars left the scene on foot, troopers said. They did not say if the person had been found.
ALERT: All lanes are now OPEN after a deadly crash closed I-85 NB at Statesville Ave. @MecklenburgEMS says 2 others were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. #clt #clttraffic #cltraffic pic.twitter.com/pVm0TQwYCZ
— Traffic Team 9 (@TrafficTeam9) August 24, 2022
The North Carolina Department of Transportation said all lanes of I-85 were reopened around 4:30 a.m.
A Channel 9 crew at the scene saw a truck with front end and what appeared to be an SUV with significant rear damage being towed from the interstate around the same time.
This is a developing story. Check wsoctv.com for updates.
(WATCH BELOW: State considering options to relieve trouble spot on I-85 in Gaston County)
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
