Charlotte-Mecklenburg police have found the red Mercedes-Benz they say struck and killed a 43-year-old pedestrian on East Arrowood Road on Tuesday night — but the driver who fled the scene is still at large, and detectives are asking the public for help finding that person.

Source: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, reported by The Charlotte Focal

Niceforo Garcia-Rufino was crossing East Arrowood Road in the 100 block, near Nations Ford Road in southwest Charlotte, at about 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10, when he was hit, according to police. Officers arrived to find him unresponsive in the roadway, and MEDIC pronounced him dead at the scene. The first reports of the crash reached Charlotte television stations just before 9 p.m. on Tuesday, with police confirming a fatal hit-and-run investigation at the Nations Ford Road and Arrowood Road junction.

Source: WSOC-TV, reported via CarCrashReport

What the preliminary investigation found

A preliminary investigation indicates Garcia-Rufino was crossing outside a marked crosswalk when he was struck by the red Mercedes-Benz, police said. Investigators say the driver was travelling above the posted speed limit and continued east on Arrowood Road toward South Boulevard without stopping. Police have not said whether any factor beyond that preliminary finding on speed — such as visibility or road conditions — played a role, and they have not released a description of the driver.

Vehicle found, driver still at large

Investigators have since located the suspect vehicle, police said in their update — a step that usually gives detectives access to damage patterns, forensic evidence and ownership records. But locating the car has not yet produced the driver: no arrest has been announced, no name has been released, and police say the person behind the wheel remains at large. The case is being handled by Detective D. Leung of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

A corridor built for cars, crossed on foot

East Arrowood Road near Nations Ford Road is a busy commercial corridor in southwest Charlotte — multiple lanes of traffic, shopping and services on both sides, and long stretches between marked crossings. The Charlotte Focal noted that the death adds to a grim tally of pedestrian fatalities on Charlotte-area roads, where safety advocates have long pressed for safer street design, lower speeds and better crosswalk infrastructure. Traffic-safety researchers say wide, fast, multi-lane roads with limited marked crossings are exactly the conditions that raise the risk for people on foot — and Tuesday night, the man crossing that corridor never made it home.

What happens next

The police investigation is ongoing. Detectives must still identify who was driving the Mercedes-Benz they have recovered, establish the full sequence of the crash, and decide what charges the driver will face once identified — police have not announced any charges or a suspect description so far. For now, the department's public appeal is the live thread in the case: anyone who was on East Arrowood Road near Nations Ford Road at about 8:50 p.m. on Tuesday, or who saw a red Mercedes-Benz travelling east toward South Boulevard that night, is being asked to come forward.

Garcia-Rufino's name and age were released by police in their Wednesday update, a day after the crash was first reported as an unnamed pedestrian death — a reminder that behind every hit-and-run statistic is a family now waiting for an answer about who was driving, and why that driver did not stop.