Kannapolis ó An Enochville man died early today after his car crashed into a building on South Cannon Boulevard.
Benjamin Tyler Poteat, 28, of 5740 Enochville School Road, China Grove, was transported to Carolinas Medical Center, where he later died.
At 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, Kannapolis Police Sgt. Bobby Lear, traveling south on Cannon Boulevard, saw a cloud of dust in the northbound side.
Lear discovered a 4-door white Acura had struck a building in the 3000 block of South Cannon Boulevard.
Firefighters found one person trapped in the car and called for a helicopter from Carolinas Medical Center. They closed the northbound lanes of Cannon Boulevard, setting up a landing zone for the helicopter in the parking lot of the vacant Target building.
Firefighters freed the driver at 11:19 p.m. and he was then transported by Cabarrus EMS ambulance to the helicopter, which flew him to the Charlotte hospital, where he died.
“What made this a difficult extrication for us was the condition of the structure,” said Battalion Chief Tracy Winecoff. “The instability of the flooring made the car unstable. Our firefighters and other personnel on the scene had to keep their safety in mind as they worked to free the driver.”
Kannapolis Fire Department responded with six vehicles and 13 personnel. Kannapolis Police Department, Cabarrus County EMS, CMC Med Center Air, Duke Power and members of Concord Rescue 5 and Collapse 5 assisted, while Landis Fire Department was notified to respond to calls in the northern part of the city.
See Thursday’s Salisbury Post for additional information.