CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police say the driver of a car was killed when she lost control and veered into the other lane crashing into a dad and his daughter who were in a work van Friday morning in east Charlotte.
Investigators say 34-year-old Bianca Gebremedhin was killed in the wreck on The Plaza near Karenstone Drive.
A work van for a plumbing company was hit. A company spokesperson says the little girl had a broken leg and collarbone, and their employee was also injured.
A neighbor who didn’t want to give her name couldn’t believe what she heard racing out to find a van flipped on its side in her front yard.
“It sounded like a big truck hit a tree or something and by the time I ran outside,” said the neighbor. “I seen the car flipped over and the dad trying to get his daughter out of the car because she was stuck in the car.”
“Was he saying anything to you?” asked Queen City News Anchor Robin Kanady.
“No, he was in ‘dad mode,’ his main concern was to get that 4-year-old out of that car,” said the neighbor.
Another neighbor, Matthew Loftin, says he saw the crash and ran over to help the dad and his little girl.
“They both seemed to be very startled, just scared and frightened, kind of disoriented,” said Loftin.
“She was not crying, she was just in shock, ‘I’m reaching for dad and I just want my dad,’” said the neighbor.
They worked together to rescue the pair out of the work van, and soon first responders were helping the driver of the car that had crashed into the van.
While police have not determined what factors led the collision, neighbors say there have been other crashes caused by people speeding.
“Yep, see how they go around the cars right there just speeding, it’s a constant thing where there trying to go around other cars speeding down the street and it’s ridiculous,” said the neighbor.
The neighbor says she hopes for more police patrols to target speeders
“This is a lot, because on this street they speed a lot, because this is like a motor speedway to some people.”
She knows she won’t soon forget the images connected with Friday morning’s crash.
“I was like oooh, it’s a little baby, let me go grab a blanket or something to keep her warm.”
Investigators say it’s unclear right now if speed or impairment were factors in Friday’s crash.
