Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries in a wreck that closed Interstate 77 South for seven hours late Friday and early Saturday, Nov. 28-29, 2025, authorities said.
WSOC
Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries in a wreck that closed Interstate 77 South for seven hours late Friday and early Saturday, authorities said.
Around 11 p.m., traffic was detoured onto Nations Ford Road, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police reported on social media site X. Police urged drivers to seek alternate routes.
The highway reopened at 5:45 a.m., according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The injured people were taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, MEDIC said on X.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Firefighters work to free a driver after an overhead sign collapsed onto a car on Interstate 77 South in Charlotte late Friday, Nov. 28, 2025.
Charlotte Fire Department
An overhead sign on Interstate 77 collapsed onto a car in Charlotte, trapping the driver and closing the southbound lanes for seven hours late Friday and early Saturday, firefighters and state highway officials said.
The driver and another person were hospitalized with serious injuries, Charlotte Fire Department officials posted on social media with photos of the wreck.
It was not clear what caused the sign to collapse and whether the second person hurt was in the injured driver’s car or another vehicle. Fire officials didn’t say in their post, and a State Highway Patrol spokesman has not yet responded to a request for more information.
Emergency crews respond to a trapped driver after an overhead sign collapsed onto a car on Interstate 77 South in Charlotte late Friday, Nov. 28, 2025. Charlotte Fire Department
Fire engines, other rescuers respond to scene
Charlotte Fire Department Engine 12 “arrived within minutes, confirmed entrapment and began patient care,” according to the Fire Department social media post.
An overhead sign on Interstate 77 collapsed onto a car in Charlotte, trapping the driver and closing the southbound lanes for seven hours late Friday and early Saturday, firefighter Charlotte Fire Department
“Ladder 20, which went into service earlier this month, and Rescue 10 worked together to free the driver, completing a complex extrication in under 30 minutes,” fire officials said.
Other responders, including the USAR search and rescue team, helped control the scene, officials said.
“Despite the cold conditions and the challenging scene, Charlotte Fire crews worked with precision and teamwork to manage the incident safely and protect everyone on scene,” the fire department post said.
Detour, unanswered questions
Around 11 p.m., traffic was detoured onto Nations Ford Road, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police reported on social media site X. Police urged drivers to seek alternate routes.
Two people were hospitalized with serious injuries in a wreck that closed Interstate 77 South for seven hours late Friday and early Saturday, Nov. 28-29, 2025, authorities said. WSOC
The highway reopened at 5:45 a.m., according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
The injured people were taken to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, MEDIC said on X.
The State Highway Patrol did not report how many vehicles were involved or the type of vehicles. They did not explain the cause of the crash or whether any of the drivers were impaired. They did not provide the names, ages or conditions of the people involved.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published November 29, 2025 at 7:32 AM.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Multiple Interstate 85 northbound lane closures are scheduled to begin this weekend northeast of Charlotte to repair concrete, state highway officials said.
Dreamstime
TNS
Multiple Interstate 85 northbound lane closures are scheduled to begin this weekend northeast of Charlotte to repair concrete, state highway officials said.
The left two lanes near Lane Street north of Kannapolis will close from 9:30 p.m. Sunday to 5 a.m. Monday, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation.
From 9:30 p.m. Monday to 5 a.m. Tuesday, the right two lanes will be closed to complete the repairs, officials said.
The closure area at mile marker 63 in Rowan County is about 26 miles from Charlotte.
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
North Carolina state law requires drivers to treat intersections where traffic lights are not working as all-way stops.
A new traffic light modification will improve driver safety on the road during power outages, the N.C. Department of Transportation says.
Many traffic lights stopped working during severe thunderstorms that caused thousands of outages across the Charlotte area late last week, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Instead of flashing yellow, NCDOT will modify traffic signals so they flash red during a malfunction, according to a news release from the department.
“Drivers should treat this kind of flashing mode like a conventional all-way stop,” NCDOT says.
NCDOT Western Region Signals Engineer Nick Zinser said the move will improve driver safety by “providing a consistent display when the signals are not operating normally.”
The department will implement the change over the next year in more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, the news release says.
What should NC drivers do if a traffic signal stops working?
When a traffic signal at an intersection is not working due to a power outage or other malfunction, drivers are required to treat the intersection as an all-way stop, according to state law. This law does not apply when traffic is being directed by a law enforcement officer or another traffic control device.
At an all-way stop, the first vehicle to reach the intersection should move forward first, according to the N.C. Department of Transportation. If two vehicles reach an all-way stop at the same time, the driver on the right should proceed first.
When two facing vehicles approach an intersection at the same time, both drivers can continue straight or turn right, according to NCDOT. If one driver is going straight while the other wants to turn left, the driver who wants to turn left must yield.
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Evan Moore is a service journalism reporter for the Charlotte Observer. He grew up in Denver, North Carolina, where he previously worked as a reporter for the Denver Citizen, and is a UNC Charlotte graduate.
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The City of Raleigh is looking to improve road conditions on Capital Boulevard, but could hit a roadblock when it comes to funding.
One idea that has been floated to get the money in place is putting a toll road on the major roadway.
On January 17, NCDOT received a formal request from the Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) to study the potential use of tolling on Capital Boulevard/U.S. 1 to accelerate the project of converting the road to a freeway between I-540 in Raleigh and Wake Forest, including widening the road to 6-8 lanes.
NCDOT is now evaluating next steps in the process but has not advocated for a particular path forward.
NCDOT said the NC Turnpike Authority will likely need to be involved in the process since tolling has been put forward as a possible feature.
Turning the road into a fully tolled expressway would likely require legislative changes. Adding tolled express lanes would likely not require legislative changes.
NCDOT has not released a timeline on how long all of this will take.
This recent proposal comes as a portion of Capital Boulevard is already being widened.
Transportation officials believe it will solve problems by reducing accidents and cutting down on commute times. They say this is needed to keep up with growth.
The project will cost nearly $750 million. The groundbreaking is not expected until 2025 for the first phase of the project.
