CHARLOTTE — Police have arrested the driver accused in a deadly hit-and-run in Plaza Midwood.
The crash happened on The Plaza at Hamorton Place on March 12.
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Court documents say that Thomas Haynes was driving recklessly when he hit a Kia Soul and killed one of the passengers, 23-year-old Sophie Klippel.
Two other people in the Kia were hospitalized.
Haynes was going 55 mph in a 35-mph zone, according to car data recorded in court documents.
“It was an unmistakably loud crash noise that jarred everyone in the house awake,” said a woman Tuesday, who lives near the corner where the crash happened.
The woman wasn’t home, but her boyfriend was there.
“The scene was just very chaotic,” she said. “There was lots of screaming.”
Klippel was thrown from the car and died at the scene. Her relatives were injured.
A man fitting Haynes’ description jumped out of the other car and ran off, witnesses said.
Police caught up with Haynes on Monday.
“It is a relief to know that someone was found and will be held responsible for it,” the woman who lives nearby said. “You can be doing most things right, and someone else comes along and takes one of the most important things to you away.”
Haynes faced a judge Tuesday, charged with second-degree murder, felony hit-and-run, two counts of misdemeanor hit-and-run, and reckless driving, and remains in jail.
Haynes, a convicted felon, was out on bond from charges in Moore County when this hit-and-run happened.
He was already wanted for a slew of other charges at the time, including larceny, breaking-and-entering, and others.
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