CONCORD, NC (WBTV) - A man claims he was swatting at a spider before striking a pedestrian in the Highland Creek sub-division early Wednesday morning,
but police are trying to determine if he was actually impaired by drugs.
The accident occurred at the intersection of Clarke Creek Parkway and Millstream Ridge Drive just before 7 a.m.
Police say
Morreen Stewart, 58, was walking on Clarke Creek Parkway when she was struck from behind by a car a
nd ended up breaking the windshield glass. She was walking next to the curb and not on the sidewalk, police said.
According to police, the driver,
19-year-old Keith Johnson Jr. said he hadn't slept in two days.
He said he was distracted after swatting at a spider which fell into his lap which caused him to swerve and hit the woman.
Johnson stopped his car and saw the woman on the ground near the curb. He claims he ran to the woman and spoke with her briefly.
Several witnesses told police that when Johnson heard the sirens approaching, he ran back to his car and threw drug paraphernalia, including a marijuana grinder and digital scales, into the nearby roadside shrubs. A Concord K-9 unit found the items tossed in the bushes.
The passengers walked away from the car briefly, police said, but they returned before law cops arrived at the scene. The two passengers were not charged, police said.
Stewart suffered serious head and spinal injurie
s. She was taken to Carolinas Medical Center-Northeast and was listed in serious condition Thursday morning.
Police took a blood sample from the driver to determine if there were any impairing substances in his system.
He admitted to smoking a marijuana blunt seven hours before the crash, police said. He was cited for drug paraphernalia and police said other charges relating to the crash may be filed.