CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) – A community is mourning the loss of a former local college athlete who was killed in a hit-and-run on Wednesday night, and has a Charlotte city councilmember calling for safer roads.
Former Queens University student-athlete 25-year-old Lance Sotelo was killed in a hit-and-run at an intersection along The Plaza on Wednesday, Jan. 14.
The driver who allegedly hit Sotelo while he was jogging was 28-year-old Q’Laundra Hood, who is facing multiple charges after police said she ran a red light at the intersection with 36th Street and The Plaza.
Police said Hood turned herself into police on Thursday.
“Lane was always a smile. He was a bright, shining face. A good example of the community here in Charlotte,” said Dewayne Rick, a bouncer at Chaser’s Charlotte, who knew Sotelo well from his four years working the door at the bar. “The process is going to take days, weeks, and months to get through. We can just remember the energy, the happiness, and the joy that he brought to us.”
Rick, who was the last one in line to pay his respects to his friend during a vigil at Chaser’s on Thursday, Jan. 15 said he’s seen cars speed past the establishment regularly.
“A better police presence would be great,” Rick said. “We’ve witnessed people driving 50, 60, and 70 miles an hour up the road with no care for anything.”
District 5 councilmember JD Mazuera-Arias agrees with Rick.
He points to data from Charlotte’s High Injury Network that shows two biker or pedestrian deaths along the same stretch of The Plaza where Sotelo was killed from 2019 to 2023 as part of the reason safer streets are needed.
“Lance was killed on a street that is a part of Charlotte’s High Injury Network, roads that we already know are dangerous,” said Mazuera-Arias. “To me, that means aggressively redesigning the High Injury Network with real safety solutions, not half measures. It means lowering speeds, fair enforcement, and updating Vision Zero with current data and goals.”
Hood is scheduled to have her first court appearance on Friday, January 15, at 1:30 p.m.
A funeral service for Sotelo is scheduled for January 19, according to a GoFundMe page set up by his family. As of Thursday evening, it has raised over $24,000 of its $26,000 goal with over 450 donors.
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