Charlotte crash that killed six brings teen driving concerns to forefront

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) — Two families are mourning after a tragic crash this weekend on a west Charlotte highway.

Six people died, including five from the same family. Three of them were small children.

The driver of the other car, who also died, was 16 years old.

State troopers say the teen hit the family’s minivan on I-485, then both vehicles collided with a parked tractor-trailer.

State officials haven’t said what caused the crash, but a close relative of the victims shared a message of safety Sunday.

“Anybody that’s driving, please stay off the phone,” said April Willis, a mother, grandmother and aunt of the victims. “If you’re on the interstate, don’t go in and out of traffic.”

Terrence Jones, a driving teacher at A Step Ahead Driving School in Charlotte, was upset to hear the news of the crash.

He tutors dozens of teenagers a year. Jones says some of his students come in not knowing the gas from the brake.

“Start slow,” he said of teen drivers. “Don’t rush to get on the highway. Make sure you know how to change lanes and merge lanes on the streets at 45 [miles per hour] before you try to do it at 70.”

Sherry Walker, the owner of A Step Ahead, says parents have responsibility to model good driving behavior.

“A lot of students will tell us … ‘My mom and dad, they’re eating and they’re on their cellphones,'” she said. “They’re watching you, Mom and Dad.”

The latest statewide data shows teenagers are disproportionately involved in crashes in North Carolina.

In 2023, teens aged 15 to 19 were involved in about 18 percent of crashes. That same age group made up less than 7 percent of the population.

“Those statistics aren’t necessarily surprising to me, because I know what we deal with when they’re coming into our schools,” Walker said.

Walker says distractions are the biggest challenge facing teen drivers.

On average, she feels her students are ready to hit the highway on their own after 16 hours behind the wheel.