CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer is recovering after trying to help a driver in distress who hit and killed someone on the sidewalk near South Tryon Street.
It happened just before 9 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of South Tryon Street and Arrowood Road.
South Tryon and Arrowood Rd. Lots of @CMPD officers on scene after eyewitness tells us pedestrian was hit this morning while crossing the street @wsoctv pic.twitter.com/aqeieWdXRM
— Susanna Black (@SusannaWSOC9) February 5, 2020
Officials said officers first responded to the area after getting a call for a crash involving a pedestrian. When they got there, they realized the driver of a Hyundai Elantra was having a medical emergency and was not stopping.
The driver had already hit someone walking on the sidewalk so the officer jumped into the car to put it in park, according to CMPD. As the officer tried to put it in park, he was run over in the process.
“The officer was attempting to put it into park, went into reverse and rolled over the officer who sustained some scratches and bruises,” CMPD said.
Officials said the officer has minor injuries, but will be OK. The driver of the car was taken to the hospital, but is expected to be OK.
MEDIC took the pedestrian to the hospital with serious injuries, but he later died from his injuries. He was identified as Afzal Nadeem.
Police said their initial investigation indicates the car, driven by 52-year-old Robert Scott, was stopped at the intersection of South Tryon Street and West Arrowood Road, but suddenly accelerated against a red light. The car then hit a raised curb and drove on the sidewalk with all four wheels, hitting Nadeem.
Scott was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle, failure to maintain lane and a red-light violation.
Authorities said it does not appear speed and impairment are factors in the crash, but they are waiting for test results.
Eyewitness News anchor Susanna Black spoke with an eyewitness who did not want to be identified, but she said she saw the crash and immediately called 911.
“This guy did like two flips in the air and then he fell on the ground. That’s when I pulled over and called 911," the woman said. “They were like ‘What happened?’ and I was just like ‘We need everything’ like I don’t, they were like ‘Do you need paramedics or firefighters or police’ and I was like 'Everything. This guy just got hit and the sound was really really loud.”
Both inbound and outbound lanes on South Tryon Street were closed while police investigated the crash, but the road has since reopened.
No other information has been released.
This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.
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