A 28-year-old North Carolina woman will serve just 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to leaving a former college athlete to die following a hit-and-run crash in Charlotte. Q'Laundra Kadri Hood admitted to striking pedestrian Lance Andreas Jesus Sotelo and fleeing the scene without calling for help, citing fear of driving without a license as her reason for not stopping.
Background
The incident occurred on Jan. 14 at approximately 5:47 p.m. in the 3300 block of The Plaza near East 36th Street. Officers with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) responded to reports of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle. First responders found Sotelo severely injured in the roadway, and medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, investigators determined that Sotelo was running southeast across The Plaza when a white Chevrolet Impala with dark-tinted windows ran a red light at East 36th Street and struck him. Police noted that footage of the crash was captured in real time, and the department issued a citywide alert for the Impala, which sustained damage to its front end, hood, and windshield.
Hood turned herself in at CMPD's Hickory Grove Division at approximately 1:30 a.m. the following morning. In a subsequent interview with detectives, she stated she had been driving after work and saw Sotelo near the side of the road. She claimed she "did not think he was going to cross" and that her light was turning from green to yellow when the pedestrian ran in front of her.
Hood admitted to striking the pedestrian and acknowledged knowing it was a person. She explained that she did not stop because she did not have a driver's license and was "scared" of what might happen to her. She further admitted that she knew the person was likely to have been seriously injured and that she had a cell phone but did not call 911 or anyone else. After returning home, she told her boyfriend's mother what happened, and her boyfriend later talked her into turning herself in.
Sotelo was a former student-athlete who graduated in 2025 from Queens College in Charlotte, where he ran with the cross-country and track and field teams, according to a report from Queen City News.
The Charges
Mecklenburg County Superior Court Judge Reggie E. McKnight sentenced Hood on Tuesday after she pleaded guilty to one count each of felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or death and misdemeanor death by vehicle. Court records show the plea agreement resulted in these specific charges being entered against her.
Judge McKnight imposed a sentence of 16 to 29 months in prison but suspended the term. Instead, the judge placed Hood on 36 months of supervised probation and ordered her to serve 30 days in jail as special probation.
Key Takeaways
- Q'Laundra Kadri Hood pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or death and misdemeanor death by vehicle.
- The victim, Lance Andreas Jesus Sotelo, was a former Queens College track and cross-country runner.
- Hood fled the scene because she did not have a driver's license and claimed she was scared.
- Judge Reggie E. McKnight suspended a 16-29 month prison term in favor of 36 months of supervised probation.
- Hood will serve 30 days in jail as part of her special probation conditions.
- CMPD investigators used real-time footage to identify the white Chevrolet Impala involved in the crash.
What's Next
Hood will begin serving her 30-day jail sentence and will subsequently enter a 36-month period of supervised probation. The case is considered resolved at the trial level following the guilty plea and sentencing.
Sources
Law & Crime
Queen City News