Mecklenburg County · Charlotte Metro
A Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Who Comes to You
If a Charlotte crash injured you or someone close, call me first. Our first exchange happens by telephone or video chat, whichever suits you. Afterward I can come to you, at the place you live or a spot you name, and at that table, face to face, the two of us reach a yes or no on working together.
Julian Doby Law has one office, in Graham. A Charlotte address changes nothing about the first step, which is a conversation with me. My North Carolina bar admission dates to 1998.
This page settles where the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department's patrol area stops, how CMPD's civilian crash investigators fit in, what happens on the UNC Charlotte campus and at the airport, which courthouse serves Mecklenburg County and how G.S. 1-82 sets venue, what NCDOT plans for I-77 south of uptown, how Charlotte's 2024 crash row compares with its population, and what to gather before we sit down.
01
Where CMPD's patrol area ends inside Mecklenburg County
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department provides twenty-four hour police service to the City of Charlotte and the unincorporated areas of Mecklenburg County, under CMPD Directive 100-005 on patrol services. A separate CMPD directive, 100-003, gives its sworn officers full law enforcement authority anywhere inside the county's boundaries.
Mecklenburg County lists seven towns besides the City of Charlotte, which are Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Matthews, Mint Hill, Pineville and Stallings. The State Demographer places most of Stallings in Union County and only a small share of it in Mecklenburg.
| Mecklenburg town | Department named on the town's own page | What that page says about crash reports |
|---|---|---|
| Cornelius | Cornelius Police Department, 21440 Catawba Avenue | Lists an Accident Report Request among its e-services |
| Mint Hill | Mint Hill Police Department, 7151 Matthews-Mint Hill Road | Directs people to the North Carolina DMV for crash reports and asks them to allow three to five business days |
| Pineville | Pineville Police Department, 427 Main Street | Nothing on crash reports |
Matthews runs a force of its own as well, the Matthews Police Department, which posts its own general orders. Huntersville and Davidson are not in that table, so after a crash in either town, get the name of the agency taking the report from the officer before you leave the scene.
CMPD's patrol service covers the city and the unincorporated county, and the towns named here run departments of their own, so the town line near a crash bears on which department holds the report. Note the street name and the closest intersection.
02
Charlotte's civilian crash investigators take property damage crashes only
The Civilian Crash Investigation Unit is a CMPD team of non-sworn staff who answer minor Charlotte crashes where no one is hurt and complete the report, a program CMPD announced on December 11, 2024. G.S. 160A-499.6, enacted by Session Law 2023-52, is the statute that allows a North Carolina city to staff traffic crash investigations with civilian employees.
What a CMPD civilian investigator does
Per CMPD's FAQ, the investigators write the crash report itself, which is a DMV-349 or a non-reportable report, and they also fill out driver exchange and towing forms. Every report from the unit goes to a sworn officer or a supervisor for review.
What a CMPD civilian investigator cannot do
G.S. 160A-499.6(b)(7) gives the investigators no power to arrest or to issue criminal process, and CMPD says they cannot write citations. When they find a violation they call for a sworn officer.
CMPD's FAQ sets the unit's shifts between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. The investigators drive white Ford F-150 Lightning and hybrid pickups with amber lights, and they wear high-visibility shirts and jackets.
Exception. G.S. 160A-499.6(b)(8) confines civilian investigators to crashes involving only property damage, and a crash with an injury or a death goes to a law enforcement officer. CMPD's FAQ says its investigators will not respond to a crash that involves injuries.
Pain that shows up days after a crash a civilian investigator handled leaves a report on file that describes a property damage crash. I want to hear that in our first conversation, along with the day the pain started.
03
Crashes on the UNC Charlotte campus and at Charlotte Douglas
UNC Charlotte Police and Public Safety handles all wreck reports and traffic management for the UNC Charlotte campus, according to the department's FAQ, which describes its jurisdiction as the campus only. A mutual aid agreement between the department and CMPD extends its enforcement powers to areas directly adjacent to campus, per the same FAQ.
For a campus crash, the report comes through the state. The university FAQ sends people to the NCDMV for it instead of the campus office.
In an October 2025 story, Charlotte Douglas International Airport says it has a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department division of its own. CMPD's patrol division list names that unit Airport Law Enforcement and keeps it apart from the 13 patrol divisions.
At the airport the division is CMPD's, and the state supplies the campus crash report.
At the airport the division is CMPD's, and the state supplies the campus crash report. The Charlotte crash report page walks through each of those request routes.
04
Is a Charlotte crash case filed on East Fourth Street?
Venue for a Charlotte crash lawsuit comes from G.S. 1-82, and that statute ties the proper county to the home of any party, plaintiff or defendant, at the time the action begins, not to the spot of the collision. A party who lives in Charlotte lives in Mecklenburg, and the table gives that county's courthouse.
| Courthouse for Mecklenburg County | Address on nccourts.gov | Superior Court district | District Court district |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mecklenburg County Courthouse | 832 East Fourth St, Charlotte, NC 28202 | District 26 | District 26 |
Under G.S. 1-82 the intersection does not pick the county, and the homes of the parties do. When a Charlotte resident sues a Gaston County driver, Mecklenburg and Gaston are both proper counties under that statute.
Mecklenburg District Court, $25,000 or less
A Mecklenburg civil action with no more than $25,000 in controversy belongs to district court, which G.S. 7A-243 sets as its proper division.
Mecklenburg Superior Court, above $25,000
The same statute makes superior court the proper division once the amount in controversy exceeds $25,000.
Under G.S. 1-82 the intersection does not pick the county, and the homes of the parties do.
A driver from across the South Carolina line raises a separate venue rule, which the Charlotte metro region page covers.
05
NCDOT's I-77 South plan from the state line to uptown
The I-77 South Express Lanes project is NCDOT project I-5718, an upgrade of 11 miles of I-77 from the South Carolina state line to I-277/N.C. 16, the Brookshire Freeway, in uptown Charlotte. NCDOT's November 12, 2025 release lists two express lanes in each direction, direct connectors to those lanes and rebuilt bridges and interchanges along the corridor.
NCDOT's project page says the work is funded for preliminary engineering only in the current State Transportation Improvement Program. Its release adds that no final decisions have been made on design or property impacts, and neither page sets a construction start.
After a crash on I-77 or I-277 in Charlotte, write down the nearest exit and which way you were headed.
When the crash involved a tractor-trailer, the truck accident page takes up the federal rules for motor carriers.
06
Charlotte's 2024 crash total beside its Census population
In the NCDMV's City Crash Data table for 2024, Charlotte shows 140 fatalities, 15,388 injuries and 32,476 crashes in its All columns. Concord's row in that table shows 3,347 crashes, and Gastonia's shows 3,479.
| Census place | Residents estimated for July 1, 2025 (V2025) |
|---|---|
| Charlotte city | 964,784 |
| Concord city | 114,598 |
| Gastonia city | 87,067 |
| Huntersville town | 68,535 |
The Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 series puts Charlotte at more than eight times Concord's population. A citywide total says nothing on the question of fault in your crash, and the statistics page for Charlotte goes through each column of the city row.
07
Your CMPD report and the first call from Charlotte
CMPD charges nothing for a crash report picked up from the Records Division at headquarters on East Trade Street or from a division counter, per its Records page. Having it before we meet saves a step.
Reach the Graham office from Charlotte
Dial 336-221-8900 or email julian@juliandobylaw.com. Lorena Meza, the paralegal at our office who handles Spanish-language contact, is the one to request for a Charlotte conversation in Spanish.
Collect the CMPD report at a counter
Take a government-issued photo ID and the completed CMPD form to headquarters or to one of the division offices.
Sit down together in Charlotte
When our first Charlotte call, by telephone or video, has ended, the location is yours to choose, and I can come to you at that spot. The choice about working together belongs to that Charlotte meeting.
Keep any paperwork the officer or civilian investigator handed you at the scene. Each stage of the visit is laid out under how a visit works; to ask for one in Charlotte, use the contact page.
Questions
Common questions
Does CMPD write the report for a crash in Matthews or Pineville?
Matthews and Pineville each run a police department of their own, apart from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Under CMPD Directive 100-005, CMPD's twenty-four hour patrol service reaches the City of Charlotte and the county's unincorporated areas, so check which agency is named on the papers you were handed at the scene before requesting a copy.
Will a CMPD civilian investigator come to a crash on a Saturday?
CMPD's FAQ for the Civilian Crash Investigation Unit sets its shifts between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Friday. Whatever the day or hour, a crash with any injury goes to a law enforcement officer under G.S. 160A-499.6(b)(8).
Can we meet somewhere other than my home in Charlotte?
Yes. Once our opening call or video chat has taken place, I can come to you at your job, a rehab facility or some other Charlotte location you name. Wherever that meeting happens, it is where you and I make the call on working together.
Does any part of Charlotte lie outside Mecklenburg County?
Charlotte is absent from the July 2025 OSBM table of North Carolina municipalities split across two or more counties, and Mecklenburg County names the City of Charlotte among its eight municipalities. Read together, those two sources place all of Charlotte in Mecklenburg County.
About the attorney
Julian Doby, attorney since 1998
Julian Doby has been admitted to practice in North Carolina since 1998, North Carolina State Bar No. 25407, and he represents injured people across the state. His one office is at 110 W. Elm Street in Graham. He meets clients across the state after a first conversation by phone or video.
More about JulianSources and verification (28)
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Directives, 100-003 Jurisdiction (effective 5/1/2026) and 100-005 Patrol Services (effective 3/23/2023), verified October 18, 2026.
- Mecklenburg County, Municipalities, verified October 18, 2026.
- NC Office of State Budget and Management, July 2025 Population Distribution of Municipalities Located in More than One County, verified October 18, 2026.
- Town of Cornelius, Police Department, verified October 18, 2026.
- Town of Mint Hill, Police Department, verified October 18, 2026.
- Town of Pineville, Police Department, verified October 18, 2026.
- Matthews Police Department, General Order 04-03, Police Vehicle Accidents, issued August 13, 2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- CMPD Newsroom, New Unit to Reduce Patrol Time Spent on Minor Crashes, December 11, 2024, verified October 18, 2026.
- CMPD, Civilian Crash Investigation Unit FAQ, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 160A-499.6, Civilian Traffic Investigators, ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- Session Law 2023-52 (House Bill 140), ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- UNC Charlotte Police and Public Safety, FAQs, verified October 18, 2026.
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport, Pedal Power: Bike Patrol Enhances Airport Security, October 15, 2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Patrol Area Divisions, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 1-82, venue, ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- N.C. Gen. Stat. 7A-243, proper division by amount in controversy, ncleg.gov, verified October 18, 2026.
- North Carolina Judicial Branch, Mecklenburg County (districts), verified October 18, 2026.
- North Carolina Judicial Branch, Mecklenburg County Courthouse, verified October 18, 2026.
- North Carolina Judicial Branch, Court locations, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT, I-77 South Express Lanes, Project I-5718 (page timestamp October 16, 2026), verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDOT news release, Corridor improvements on Interstate 77, November 12, 2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- NCDMV, North Carolina 2024 Traffic Crash Facts, Section 4 City Data, City Crash Data (page 26 per the table of contents), verified October 18, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Charlotte city, North Carolina, Population estimates, July 1, 2025, (V2025), verified October 18, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Concord city, North Carolina, V2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Gastonia city, North Carolina, V2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts, Huntersville town, North Carolina, V2025, verified October 18, 2026.
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Records, verified October 18, 2026.
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Crime and Crash Reports, verified October 18, 2026.
Hurt in Charlotte? Talk first. Then I can come to you.
Call or send a visit request. We start by phone or video.