A 21-year-old motorcyclist has died after a high-speed crash with an SUV in west Charlotte Friday night, and police say his speed was a factor. Wildt Hardin was riding a Yamaha motorcycle outbound on Wilkinson Boulevard when he collided with a Chevrolet Blazer turning left onto West Morehead Street, according to investigators.
The crash happened around 8:32 p.m. in the 2300 block of Wilkinson Boulevard near West Morehead Street, according to WSOC-TV. The outlet reported that Hardin was traveling at a high rate of speed as he headed outbound on Wilkinson Boulevard, and that investigators later established speed was a factor in the collision. The Chevrolet Blazer involved in the crash was driven by 26-year-old Lanaija Brown, who was in the process of making a left-hand turn from Wilkinson Boulevard onto West Morehead Street when the two vehicles collided.
Rushed to the Hospital, Later Pronounced Dead
Hardin was transported by MEDIC to a local hospital following the crash. He was later pronounced deceased there after succumbing to his injuries, according to Queen City News, which reported that Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers responded to the serious crash and that Hardin's family has since been notified of his death.
The station's report notes that the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's Major Crash Investigation Unit has taken over the case, and that further work remains to determine whether impairment played any role for Hardin. The investigation into the crash remains active as detectives continue piecing together exactly what happened in the moments before the collision.
A Pattern of Deadly Motorcycle Crashes Around Charlotte
A Pattern of Deadly Motorcycle Crashes Around Charlotte This is not the only recent fatal motorcycle crash to hit the region. Just days earlier, a car attempting a left turn crashed into a motorcycle in Tega Cay, killing a Charlotte woman and a man, according to a report from WBTV. Months before that, a motorcyclist was ejected and killed when two speeding vehicles collided with him and another car on Interstate 85 South, as reported by WCNC.
Anyone with information about Friday's crash is asked to contact Detective Worthy at 704-432-2169, extension 4. Tips can also be submitted anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600, through the P3 Tips mobile app, or at charlottecrimestoppers.com.
