A community is complaining about what they call a dangerous stretch of road that runs through Mecklenburg and Union counties.
The area is North Carolina Highway 218 from I-485 to Highway 601. In 2017, Mint Hill Police responded to 47 car accidents in the two mile stretch where it has jurisdiction.
In the last three days, five accidents have shut down the two lane highway, with the most recent claiming the life of a family’s horse. Shelli Scott told NBC Charlotte it happened around 9 p.m. Monday.
“The person hit the fence and just left,” Shelli said in tears.
The Scotts call themselves hobby farmers, showing horses and raising miniature donkeys. Their beloved Gypsy Vanner horse, Shameless, was in the pasture behind the fence that was hit. A neighbor saw the car drive off and alerted the Scotts.
Shameless bolted, running along the road and eventually right across the highway into a minivan. The driver and passengers were alright, but the horse died.
“He was a goofy, loving boy,” Shelli recalled. “He’d greet you every time you come to the pasture.”
The rare horse’s death hits Scott and the horse community hard, especially dangerous driving on that stretch of road has become the norm.
The NCDOT confirmed a speed study is underway to determine what changes, if any, can be made to make Highway 218 safer.
“People need to slow down and be more cautious,” said Shelli.
The Scotts are moving their fence line back 50 feet in hopes of this never happening again. The driver who hit the fence has not been caught, and the Scotts said no evidence was left behind. If you have any information, you’re asked to call police.