CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three people were taken to Charlotte hospitals with serious injuries after a stabbing in north Charlotte led to a crash that started a house fire on Eastway Drive Tuesday morning, police said.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police were called to a Shell gas station near I-85 at about 4 a.m. for a stabbing. The victim was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries by Medic, police said. A witness told police that the suspect sped away from the scene in a white Nissan sedan.
A few minutes later, CMPD was called to a crash in the 2700 block of Eastway Drive near the intersection with Central Avenue. Police said an officer tried to pull over a white Nissan sedan on Eastway at The Plaza but the driver refused to stop. The car then crashed into a parked car and flipped onto its side after hitting a utility pole.
The crash knocked down power lines, starting a house fire at a home next to where the crash happened. Charlotte Fire was called to the scene and a team of nearly two dozen firefighters got the fire out in about 10 minutes. Everyone in the house was able to escape without injury.
Medic confirmed that two people inside the vehicle were rushed to Atrium Health-Main with life-threatening injuries. CMPD officers at the scene confirmed that the stabbing suspect was in the vehicle that crashed and both incidents were connected.
On Thursday, CMPD announced that Santaurus Neely, 26, was charged with attempted robbery, assault on a female and assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the stabbing. Detectives said Neely was in the Nissan at the time of the crash but did not say if he was driving.
