Couple killed by speeding, impaired driver near Charlotte shopping center, police say
A Charlotte couple died when a speeding and impaired driver hit them as they pulled from a University City shopping center this week, police said.
Luke and Restin Drawdy were killed in the wreck, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
Luke Drawdy, 32, belonged to the Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte, the chorus posted on Facebook, saying it was “devastated” by the loss of the couple.
“There was not a room that they entered that was not brightened by their smiles and laughter,” according to the post. “Their love for one another was obvious to all who knew them. Their generosity and hospitality were legend.
“Two beautiful, young lights have gone out of the universe.”
Luke Drawdy was trying to turn left onto North Tryon Street in a 2011 Audi Q5 SUV from the Terraces at University Place Shopping Center when he was hit on the driver’s side about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, police said. Restin Drawdy, 35, was in the front passenger seat.
Medic pronounced the Drawdys dead at the scene, police said in a news release.
Medic took the driver of the other car, 26-year-old Thomas Nix, to Carolinas Medical Center, police said. Nix, who was southbound on North Tryon in a 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTi, had “minor injuries, according to CMPD.
Police charged Nix with driving while impaired, reckless driving and two counts of felony death by vehicle.
Nix was released from the Mecklenburg County Jail on Friday on $21,000 bail, jail records show.
CMPD urged witnesses and anyone else with information about the wreck to call police at 704-432-2169, extension 4, or anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.
