College Student Killed By Drunken Driver In Charlotte

On July 15, a college student suffered fatal personal injuries in an early-morning accident on Brookshire Boulevard in Charlotte.

According to police, 23-year-old Maurice McDowell was struck from behind by a drunken driver, pushing him into the path of a semi-truck. McDowell, a graduate of Harding High School and former student at North Carolina A&T University, was pronounced dead at the scene.

McDowell’s parents recognized his car on the TV report and his father rushed to the scene and arrived in time to speak to police. McDowell worked for his father’s janitorial service and had just left one job site and was on his way to another.

Police charged the other driver, Demaris Goodson, with DWI, felony death by motor vehicle, and involuntary manslaughter. He was injured in the accident, but is expected to recover.

McDowell’s mother, Rose Mary McDowell, said that her son had returned to live with his parents in Belmont after being the recent victim of a kidnapping and robbery. He had nearly graduated from A&T, but returned to Belmont and began attending Gaston College to work toward a degree in computer sciences.