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Attorney explains involuntary manslaughter charge in Sharon Rd. crash

CHARLOTTE, NC — Speeding was involved in the vehicle accident Sept. 18 on Sharon Road that killed Shanquise Bush and a 3-year-old boy in her car, police said.

Witnesses said they saw Uriel Flores' white pickup move into Bush's lane and she over-corrected, slamming into a power pole.

"Nobody's to blame," said Adilene Flores, sister of Uriel Flores. "Nobody's to blame for this accident."

Adilene Flores questioned the police's decision to charge her brother with manslaughter, since the two cars never touched.

"My brother did not hit the car," she said. "That car did not hit my brother. They were not racing."

Police said the two cars reached speeds between 55-70 mph and witnesses said they appeared to be racing before Bush lost control.

Racing explains the manslaughter charge, said Tony Scheer, defense attorney and former prosecutor.

"You describe here a couple cars speeding," Scheer said. "That's a traffic violation and that could be misdemeanor death by vehicle. Add racing and you've really stepped it up"

Proving that they were racing to a jury could be tough, Scheer said. Since the case may come down to what witnesses thought they saw and what Flores and Bush were thinking in those critical few seconds before the crash.

"If I were a defense attorney, there's tremendous amount to work with here," he said. "Presumably, we've got a misdemeanor death by vehicle and beyond that, to defend involuntary manslaughter, they have to show a great deal more."