CHARLOTTE, N.C. – State Troopers say they are following several leads in trying to find the driver of a car that caused a deadly wreck on Interstate 485 late Friday night.
Troopers tell NewsChannel 36 they are checking with area body shops to see if someone is trying to have a car fixed and they are waiting on test results from paint samples taken from the car that was hit.
Investigators say an erratic driver sideswiped another car on I-485 near Pineville-Matthews Road, sending it down an embankment.
David Bell, 14, was ejected and killed. He and the other teens in the car were on their way home from a basketball game when the accident happened.
The driver, Ginna Stamps, 31, along with her teenage son and 6-year-old daughter, stayed in the car.
Troopers say three people, including Bell, were not wearing seatbelts.
Stamps has been charged with seat belt violations because some passengers weren't wearing their belts.
Chester Middle School football coach Walter Beaty called Bell Jr. a gifted athlete with college potential.
"I was talking to another coach the other day about him, and how good of a picture was in store for him," said Beaty. "But things happen."
Beaty said Bell and his basketball teammates liked to travel to Charlotte on weekends to play other teams. He said Bell was a quiet presence on the team and was talented and well-liked.
Troopers said Stamps and the teens were passing the spot where they wrecked between 11:30 and 11:50 p.m. Friday. A witness reported the white car after seeing the crash.
Bell's funeral will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at Chester Middle School.
