Charlotte, NC (October 08, 2026) - Christopher Easterling, 49, died after a Cadillac DTS struck him on Eastway Drive in Charlotte, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Officers responded at approximately 7:26 p.m. Thursday to the 3600 block near East Independence Boulevard, where responders found Easterling in the roadway with severe injuries. MEDIC pronounced him dead at the scene.

CMPD’s preliminary investigation indicated that Jacoa Stringfellow, 41, was driving the Cadillac northbound when it struck Easterling as he crossed outside a marked crosswalk. Police also reported that he was not wearing reflective clothing.

Stringfellow stayed at the scene with the Cadillac, which had front-end damage. The vehicle also struck the side of the bridge. Police said officers screened Stringfellow for impairment, determined that she was impaired and arrested her for driving while impaired. She was transferred to the custody of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.

The collision occurred on the Eastway Drive overpass in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Both directions of the road were closed for several hours during the initial investigation and subsequently reopened.

CMPD’s Major Crash Investigation Unit, DWI Task Force and Crime Scene Search responded, along with MEDIC and the Charlotte Fire Department. Police notified Easterling’s next of kin. In its October 9 release, CMPD said the Major Crash Investigation Unit was investigating the collision under case number 20261008-1926-04.

A Crossing Location Does Not Settle Claim Eligibility

A family should not rule out asking about a possible claim solely because police reported that a pedestrian crossed outside a marked crosswalk. In the Eastway Drive collision, that detail describes where Christopher Easterling was crossing. It does not, by itself, resolve whether his conduct and the driver’s actions contributed to his death or what those circumstances mean legally.

The crossing detail nevertheless deserves attention. North Carolina’s contributory negligence rule can bar recovery when an injured person’s own negligence contributed to the injury, subject to case-specific analysis and possible exceptions. A wrongful-death action also depends on circumstances that would have supported an action had the person lived. The practical question is therefore not whether to disregard the crossing location, but whether it establishes legally significant conduct when considered alongside the driver’s actions. Neither the crossing location nor the reported lack of reflective clothing supplies that answer alone.

Asking a pedestrian hit by car attorney about this concern can focus on the connection between conduct and the collision, rather than treating a detail in a police account as an automatic disqualification. The reported impairment allegation also belongs in that assessment, but an arrest is not a conviction or a civil liability decision. Considering both people’s actions avoids replacing a legal assessment with either a single crossing detail or a single charge.

Ask About the Crossing Concern Before Ruling Out a Claim

After a fatal pedestrian accident, a family does not have to decide what an unmarked crossing means legally before seeking an explanation. The useful next step is to ask whether that circumstance affects a possible claim, rather than assuming it ends the inquiry.

If that concern is keeping you from asking about a fatal loss, you can call 1-704-714-1450 for a conversation about whether a claim may be available and how the reported crossing circumstances could affect it.