Charlotte, NC (October 02, 2026) - Ebony Wingate, 49, died at the scene after a Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) bus struck her in the 1300 block of North Graham Street, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

Officers responded at approximately 1:12 p.m. Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina, within CMPD’s Metro Division. They found the bus and Wingate, who was unresponsive in the roadway. MEDIC pronounced her dead at the scene.

According to investigators’ preliminary account, Wingate had exited the bus before walking back toward it as it pulled away from the bus stop. Investigators said she entered the roadway and was struck by the bus.

CMPD’s Major Crash Investigation Unit, Transit Unit and Crime Scene Search responded to investigate. The Charlotte Fire Department also responded.

Police said Wingate’s next of kin had been notified. In its October 2 release, CMPD described the investigation as active and ongoing.

Authority to Act and Grounds for a Claim

After a fatal pedestrian collision involving a public transit bus, identifying who may bring a wrongful death action is different from establishing whether a claim exists. For families facing a loss like the one reported on North Graham Street, those questions deserve separate answers. Neither a family relationship nor the fatal outcome settles both.

North Carolina’s wrongful death statute assigns a qualifying action to the deceased person’s personal representative or collector. These are legal roles, not simply descriptions of the relative handling family concerns. A family member’s involvement after a death does not, by itself, establish authority to bring the action. Clarifying that role identifies who can pursue the claim without deciding whether another person is legally responsible.

The responsibility question a pedestrian crash lawyer would examine is whether another person’s wrongful act, neglect or default caused the death under circumstances that would have supported an action had the person lived. That is the statute’s requirement, rather than an automatic consequence of a bus striking a pedestrian.

CMPD’s preliminary account describes Wingate returning toward the departing bus and entering the roadway. Those movements explain the reported sequence, but do not by themselves establish wrongful conduct or resolve legal responsibility.

Understanding how families build strong wrongful death claims also means separating the authority to bring an action from the losses it may address. The statute recognizes reasonable funeral expenses and qualifying losses of income, services, care and companionship. Those categories describe potential damages, not proof that a claim exists in this collision.

Clarify Who Can Act Before Pursuing a Claim

A family coping with a fatal pedestrian loss should not have to guess which legal role it holds. A conversation with our office can help distinguish a relative’s questions from the authority needed to bring an action and identify which responsibility questions need individual review.