CHARLOTTE, NC– The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department is investigating a pedestrian fatality that happened near the 2100 block of Independence Boulevard early Saturday morning.
The 23-year-old, Traquan Rashad Mckoy, was trying to cross near the Bojangles Coliseum when one car hit him shortly before 4am. He was thrown forward and landed in the center lane. That’s when four other cars proceeded to hit him.
Local residents, like Zsa Zsa Keenan, say more needs to be done to prevent accidents like this. The Matthews resident says she tries to avoid using Independence Blvd whenever she can because of the high volume of traffic.
She says another big concern: pedestrians walking along, and crossing the six lanes of the busy roadway, even hopping over the middle barriers set up for construction projects.
“It’s extremely dangerous,” says Keenan.
And it is. There are been several deaths near Bojangles Coliseum where the road is already a freeway.
Keenan and her friend Jamie Dalton say the city should consider adding elevated crosswalks to make it safer and easier for those traveling on foot to get across Independence Blvd.
“If they have to design an elevated crosswalk to support the pedestrian traffic, then that’s probably a consideration they need to make,” says Keenan.
The Major Crash Unit is investigating the overnight fatality. Anyone with information is asked to call crime-stoppers at 704-334-1600.
