A routine yesterday afternoon shopping trip in Concord turned deadly when a 78-year-old woman was fatally struck by an SUV in a parking lot off Concord Mills Boulevard, according to police. Investigators say she was using a marked crosswalk in the shopping center lot when the vehicle hit her.
The driver, a 77-year-old woman behind the wheel of a Toyota RAV4, appeared to be having a medical emergency when officers arrived. The crash happened just after 1 p.m., and authorities are still trying to determine whether a medical issue began before the collision and whether any charges will follow, according to WBTV.
Busy Concord Mills Corridor Adds to Tense Scene
The fatal crash unfolded in the Concord Mills retail corridor, a high-traffic zone of strip centers and the Concord Mills mall just off I-85. The mall lists roughly 7,200 parking spaces and draws visitors from across the region, which can lead to heavy parking lot congestion during midday and on weekends, according to Simon Property Group.
What Prosecutors Will Be Looking At
Under North Carolina law, prosecutors have a couple of potential paths if they decide to pursue charges in a deadly crash. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 20-141.4 spells out two key possibilities. Felony death by vehicle applies when impaired driving is the proximate cause of a death, while misdemeanor death by vehicle can be charged when another traffic violation is the proximate cause, according to the North Carolina General Assembly. Investigators will be weighing medical records, witness accounts and any available video as they sort through what happened.
Concord police told WBTV that the investigation remains active and that they have not yet released the victim’s name or any update on possible charges. This story will be updated as authorities share more information.
