Woman charged in fatal hit-and-run

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Police today charged a Charlotte woman with two counts of felony hit-and-run in connection with a collision last Thursday night that killed a Charlotte trucker who had stopped along a road to help another man.

Charla Dean Davis, 44, is being charged with reckless driving and driving with a revoked license, in addition to the hit-and-run charges, Belmont police Chief David James said.

She is expected to go before a Gaston County magistrate early Tuesday afternoon, to have her bail set.

Police say Davis told them she was driving the Saturn Vue, an SUV, which struck three pedestrians last Thursday on the Wilkinson Boulevard bridge over the Catawba River, near the Mecklenburg-Gaston county line. One of those pedestrians, Ronnie Gene Eudy, 40, died several hours later from his injuries.

Another pedestrian, Betty Faye Adams, was seriously injured. The third victim, Jerry Ames Leach, suffered lesser injuries.

Eudy had stopped his tractor-trailer behind an SUV that had parked on the bridge after the driver became ill. Betty Faye Acams and Leach were passengers in that vehicle, which was driven by Calvin Adams. Police say Calvin Adams suffered a stroke or some type of seizure.

The vehicle that struck the pedestrians did not stop at the scene. Police found the Saturn SUV several hours later in a Mount Holly apartment parking lot. Davis surrendered to police Friday morning.

Belmont police spent several days interviewing witnesses. They said they were trying to determine whether Davis, who had four convictions for DUI, might have been drinking. But no DUI charges are among those being filed today.

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