Fleeing Stabbing Suspects Hit Power Pole, Start House Fire

CHARLOTTE, NC — Suspects believed to be involved in a pre-dawn stabbing at a Charlotte gas station and fleeing from police crashed into a car and utility pole, sparking a house fire, according to police.

According to a police report, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers responded to an emergency call at a Shell Station located in the 1100 block of Sugar Creek Road around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning and found a man who had been stabbed in the parking lot. The victim was transported to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries, CMPD said.

A witness on the scene told responding officers that the suspects involved in the stabbing fled the gas station in a white Nissan sedan. Minutes later, a CMPD officer located on Eastway Drive spotted a white Nissan Altima and attempted to conduct a traffic stop.

“The Altima refused to stop and the officer did not pursue the vehicle as it was not clear at that time if the occupants were in fact the suspects who had stabbed the victim at the Shell Station,” a CMPD report said.

At 4:15 a.m., the Altima crashed into a parked car and a power pole in the 2700 block of Eastway Drive, sparking a fire at a nearby house a few minutes later, police said.

The two suspects inside the car were transported to an area hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

Nearly two dozen Charlotte firefighters responded to the scene and extinguished the fire in 10 minutes, according to fire officials. While no one inside the home was injured, the power surge that caused the electrical fire in the attic caused an estimated $10,000 loss and displaced two adults and a child.

According to CMPD, an active investigation is ongoing and detectives are working to determine any connection between the suspects and the gas station stabbing. CMPD asks that anyone with information about this incident call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a homicide unit detective or call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

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