Cabarrus County middle school principal placed on leave after DWI arrest

Miles Ruder,

A Cabarrus County middle school principal has been placed on administrative leave after being arrested for DWI last weekend.

Krina Patel, the principal at Harris Road Middle School in Concord, was arrested in the early morning of Saturday, Jan. 3.

According to the affidavit, the arresting officer from the Huntersville Police Department pulled Patel over on NC Highway 73 near Ramah Church Road. The affidavit claimed the officer saw Patel cross the center line and make β€œnumerous more lane failures and left of center violations.”

The officer claimed that Patel’s speech was β€œslow and slurred” and that she fumbled one of her documents. According to the arrest report, a breath test was issued and recorded a 0.14 blood alcohol concentration, above the North Carolina limit of 0.08.

Patel was taken to the Mecklenburg County jail where she was charged with driving while impaired. She was later released on a $2,500 bond, according to court records.

Patel was announced as the middle school’s new principal in September 2025.

Cabarrus County Schools made the following statement regarding Patel’s arrest:

“CabarrusΒ County Schools is aware of the allegations against Krina Patel, the principal at Harris Road Middle School. She is currently on administrative leave pending further review. We have no further comment on this personnel matter.”