A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer was hospitalized early Saturday after a vehicle slammed into a CMPD cruiser on Interstate 85 North, one of five people hurt in a crash that shut down the highway for hours near the University City Boulevard exit.
The crash happened on the northbound side just after 12:30 a.m., according to wcnc.com. The officer had been assisting North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers with traffic control when a passing vehicle struck the CMPD vehicle, police said in a statement cited by the station.
Police said the officer is being treated for injuries that are not considered life-threatening, per the same account. Paramedics, however, reported that two other people suffered life-threatening injuries, and that five people in total were taken to hospitals.
Northbound Lanes Shut Down For Hours
The crash forced the closure of all northbound lanes of I-85 near Sugar Creek Road in northeast Charlotte while investigators worked the scene, as Queen City News reported. The stretch reopened in the early morning hours, though accounts of the exact time differ slightly — the station's report put the reopening at shortly after 4 a.m., while wcnc.com reported the lanes stayed closed until around 4:30 a.m.
Commuters heading toward University City in the pre-dawn hours faced a lengthy detour as crews cleared the scene. The closure affected one of Charlotte's busiest overnight corridors, a stretch of I-85 that links northeast Charlotte to the rest of the interstate system.
No Word Yet On Charges
Neither CMPD nor other authorities have disclosed what led the passing vehicle to strike the officer's cruiser. There was no immediate word about whether charges would be filed in connection with the crash, according to wcnc.com.
The identities and current conditions of the officer and the other people hospitalized have not been released. Real-time updates on road closures and traffic incidents around Charlotte are tracked through the CMPD 911 Computer Aided Dispatch system.
