serious at this point. the driver also injured in that crash. i am told he is facing charges this midday, including driving left of center. and also misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. he initially told state troopers here. and i just found this out, that he swerved to miss a deer. they are looking into whether that is true. they are saying none of the other witnesses saw a deer this morning. >> he has been tweeting updates from the scene all morning long. follow at faherty, wsoc9. >> breaking now on i-85. this is 85 southbound near dale earnhardt boulevard. you can see there are troopers there on the scene, directing traffic around the crash. trooper says a tractor-trailer

we're seeing rire siddual delays in this area. yeah we were looking at traffic flows. and it was southbound out of china grove. still a few leftover delays. boulevard. grove. the good news is, getting ready to clear out. but right now, still slow about six miles per hour. if you want to avoid some of this congestion, jump on 29. >> in the next few hours, republican presidential candidate ted cruz will address supporters in kannapolis. he is expected to speak at central kannapolis church at 5:00 p.m. in the most recent elan poll, trump is leading cruz in north carolina 28-19. and coming up in the next

tuesday, take 2. how the front runners are trying to pad those leads. police say kyle moore attacked the girl from behind on west gold street sunday. she screamed and several nearby national guard members rushed to help her out. police say they caught moore and held him until police could get there. he now faces second-degree sexual offense and sexual battery charges. investigators are trying to figure out who is beheim this smash-and-grab. since then, they told eyewitness news reporter angela hong what exactly was taken in this. angela? >> reporter: this morning, i spoke with a store employee who said there are jewelry pieces missing. some are from the popular david yermin collection. crews are working on replacing the glass doors that were

this happened a little before 5:00 a.m. police say a van backed into the front door of finks jewelry store here at berk dale boulevard. suspect or suspects made their way inside. but by the time police arrived, they were gone. police collected evidence inside this store. they say they were looking for clues on the surveillance footage they have as well. the store sits below several apartment buildings here at berkdale village. but police say none of the people witnessed anything. they told us they are surprised something like this could happen in an area like this. >> we thought there would be a little more security. like the bars and windows they have at the mall. but i guess it was an easy target. police told me that the alarms in the building actually went off as soon as the glass broke. but the suspects were in and out quick. and again, they were gone by the time police arrived. reporting in huntersville, angela hong, channel 9 eyewitness news. this afternoon, the davidson board of commissioners

declaring that every student should be guaranteed a spot in a neighborhood school. it's in response to the student assignment plan. the meeting is at town hall today at 4:00. joining huntersville and cornelius to present before the meeting tonight. last night, the huntersville mayor and council will prepare a resolution. cms say they are very early in the student assignment process. overall, they hope to break up assignments of poverty. town leaders told us their main concerns are lack of stability and predicteddability. -- predictability. a senate work group to work on the nondiscrimination ordinance. >> part of it allows people to use the bathroom that fits their gender identity. they say the state has higher priorities than taking aim at the over theenance. berger said they should be looking at laws to keep men

saying, if he refuses to his -- do his job, then the senate stands to return session and resolve this quickly. dan forest is also getting involved in this battle. he wants lawmakers to come back to work for a special session. we talked to a political expert who said it may be a political move. >> he's running for re-election this time around. but probably what he's doing is putting a marker down for whether he runs for the nomination for governor. >> three-fifths of lawmakers would have to agree to a special session before that can happen. governor mccrory has said a special session isn't necessary. union public county schools started the new search for their superintendent this morning. the school board met at 7:30 this morning. they talked about whether to hire a search firm and whether the superintendent should be in place this school year or possibly the first of next

announced retirement just days after the fbi and district attorney closed their investigation into her company and a contract for school laptops. she does not face any charges. another big round of voting today in the race for the white house. the unexpected move some candidates are making as they try to maneuver into first place. plus, an ambulance, stolen in north carolina. how first responders say the suspect got behind the wheel. and how police finally caught up to her. once again, we are sphoiled here. with temperatures already in

we'll take an early preview of l take an ea not good news on wall street. stocks are tumbling today. following a poor report about china's economy. right now, the dow falling back 64. nasdaq down about 28. a look at damage here. after police say a patient stole an ambulance and crashed it in someone's yard in north carolina. paramedics at mcdowell county were responding to i call -- to a call about a psychiatric patient sunday. when they say that woman jumped in the ambulance and drove off. she drove about two miles before she crashed by fence and i tree. >> we came home from work. and there were people walking around in our yard well you can still see ambulance parts here. >> reporter: the district is determining whether this driver will famous any charges. emergency services is also reviewing policy to make sure this doesn't happen again. they signed a petition,

box, behind the margaret nance resident home. it was the same area where a sexual assault was reported last week. just last year, someone at the herald said someone robbed a student there. plans for the sign of the old knights stadium appear to be moving forward now. york county council proved a zoning request last night. it will allow a charlotte developer to dwld 240 -- build 240 apartments. some neighbors told our partners at the herald, they are worried about increased traffic and more crowded schools. voters in four states are headed to the polls right now. the steps the front runners are their leads. then a train derailed and plunged into a creek.

ters described the it is super tuesday, take 2. as voters head out to the polls. presidential frontrunners on both sides are eyeing their chance to build on the momentum. >> presidential hopefuls on both sides of the aisle are preparing for every vote in mississippi and michigan. republicans are adding ohio and hawaii to the mix. can the frontrunner be

cruz, making unexpected capch campaign stops in michigan and mississippi before the polls even open in those states. a new poll shows him trailing trump by 8 points. john kasich also finishing a push through michigan before ramping up his own efforts in his own must-win home state contest next week. >> we're going to get some moment owm out of -- momentum out of michigan, and ohio. it's going to be exciting. >> both democratic contenders campaigned. that may be bernie sanders best and laps last chance to challenge hillary clinton's democratic hold. channel 9 will keep a close eye on the primaries. today marks two years since a malaysian airlines flight disappeared with 239 people on board. investigators are still searching for that wreckage. we could get an update today on

you may remember a team of experts is testing debris that is believed to be from that missing flight. someone found it washed up on the coast of mozambique last night. if the experts can't properly identify that piece, it will be sent to australia for further testing. north carolina's transportation secretary is back in the state after a trip to meet with d.o.t. officials. they questioned about a center toll road that went bankrupt just outside of austin. now, tennyson is trying to figure out what legal and financial options we have, regarding the 77 toll lane project. >> it was a very good conversation the opportunity to come down and meet with a number of people from the texas d.o.t. it was a valuable trip. another toll project in indiana declared bankruptcy in 2014. now, channel 9 has investigated the contract for years twoment

dallas, where sentra had just opened a tollroad there. critics there said it was a tax on the poor. but dallas leaders said their population is booming. and they can't afford to build the roads to handle the traffic. cornelius town hall to discuss the project. meanwhile, they plan to meet to discuss yesterday's trip and we'll release more information as soon as that process is complete. today, author pat conway will be laid to rest in his hometown of buford, south carolina. the 79-year-old died last week after a battle with pancreatic cancir. he was known for works like prince of tides and the great santini. hundreds are expected to attend his funeral mass today. new at noon, the mega church elevation is finalizing plans for expansion in rock hill. the church finalized a deal with the developer for the $9 million project in the city's river walk community. the church has been meeting in

outgrown that space. it is expected to be done by december. well, we're seeing lots of sunshine out there. and it's getting warmer and warmer. meteorologist christine wraght is here. >> it's going to continue to be the trend here this week. a beautiful shot. hopefully you have some plans this afternoon to spend time outdoors. clear, blue skies. lunchtime temperatures, 71 now in the university area. harrisburg at 71. 69 in ballentine. 69 in gastonia. this warmth continues all the way up into the mountains. we're in the mid-60s in jefferson and boon. these temperatures well above average this time of year. mid-60s in chester. low events is in chesterfield and lancaster. keepin mind, the average is 60. mid-70s for rock hill, monroe. 76 for albemarle.

jefferson right at 70. like i said, make sure you have time to get out and enjoy it. maybe you have plans to hit up the uncc versus georgia game. we'll have temperatures in the low 70s by 6:00. sunset, 6:26. we're continuing to see that a little later on into the evening. and with the high clouds this evening should make for once again a beautiful sunset. heading out to the game. maybe a light jacket. by 10:00, we'll have temperatures cooling slowly into the low 60s. but overall, a beautiful night. 70s here for a while. i mentioned our average high this time of year, 60. we'll be around 10, 15, near 20 degrees above average for the rest of our weekend. again, if you don't have a chance to enjoy it today, at least we've got a couple more days to enjoy this warmth. and when we are talking temperatures that are 15 to 20 degrees above average. start comparing. well, the record highs here for this week. low 80s.

but don't really see any records being questioned. the one question we're getting a lot of on facebook. can i start that garden? still think it's a little too early. our average last frost is early april. i know it's hard to believe with the temperatures we have here in the upper 70s. second week of march. let's talk about the five-day forecast. once again, we've got the sunshine. but warm temperatures and the dry conditions, straight through the week. i know the allergy sufferers are struggling this week. we'll finally see the chance of rain head back into the weekend. highs, mid-70s around for sunday. although we keep that chance of rain saturday and sunday. bad timing with how wonderful this week is. but it won't be a complete washout. and a friendly reminder as well. we are springing forward, saturday night into sunday. >> at least we have the dry time before the weekend. >> just get out and enjoy it while we can. a train flipped, plunging right into a fast-moving creek.

and right then, the train flipped over. >> the elements first responders battled as they raced to get the trapped passengers out.

winn take a look at this. pretty incredible video of a train that went off the tracks in california and went into a creek. >> we're having a difficult time figuring out how we're going to access this. >> it had fallen off the tracks in san francisco. first responders broke windows frantically trying to get all 214 passengers on board to

they battled a fast-moving, rain-swollen creek, too. >> it's scary. it's still scary. but you know, somebody was watching over us night. everybody got out. and everybody is anything to hope -- going to hopefully be okay. >> amazingly. nobody was hurt. four did have serious injuries. clean blood to puerto rico. health department. the red cross and other groups are sending blood to the health department to keep tainted virus. zika is suspected of causing severe birth defects. landed there this morning. one of the most important allies in the persian gulf. he'll also visit israel and the west bank and jordan. this is accused drunk

with a 15-foot tree stuck in the grill. police pulled this over in january but just uploaded the pictures and video to the department facebook page this week. they're using it as a don't drink and drive psa. they say the woman was on the wrong side of the road, too. right now, nc state and wake forest are battling it out in washington, d.c. tipoff was at noon. the winner takes on duke tomorrow. nc state head coach, mark gunfreed said that today's game is the start of a new season. >> starts with the tournament. and it's up to us. so it's been a tough year. we get it. but we can rewrite the story. >> nc state guard, cat barber has been named by the coaches. topping 30 points, eight times this season. it was a banner night for

charlotte native stef curry. to victory. but curry became the first player in nba history to make 300, 3-pointers in a season. the team set an nba record of 45 regular season home wins store you may notice some changes next time you buy a gift card. some story stores are requiring that you buy with id. others are putting limits on repeat purchases. criminals are known to pay for gift cards with stolen credit cards. and we are seeing gorgeous temperatures and skies. >> continuing to be very spoiled here in the carolinas. and we'll have quiet donees here rest of the evening. want to make sure the sunglasses will keep plenty of sunshine around. highs today, reaching the mid- 70s. and of course, the stretch continuing.

low 80s as we head into the middle of the week. >> thanks for making channel 9 your choice for news this midday. see you tomorrow at 5:00. (donkey sound) (elephant sound) there's a big difference between making noise, (tapping sound) and making sense. (elephant sound) (donkey sound) when it comes to social security, we need more than lip service. our next president needs a real plan to keep social security strong. (elephant noise) hey candidates. enough talk.

give u announcer: it's time to play "family feud." give it up for steve harvey! [captioning made possible by fremantle media] steve: how you fellas doing today? thank you v very much. welcome to "family feud," everybody. i'm your man steve harvey, and, boy, we got another good one for you today. returning for the second day, from lithonia, georgia, it's the kirk family. and from leicester, mass.,

>> hanmi taekwondo. steve: scared of them. all right, now. well, everybody's here trying to win theyself a lot of cash today and the possibility of driving out of here in a brand-new ford fusion. yeah. i'm gonna give away some money. who want it? let's go get it. give me kumar. give me kevin. let's go. top 6 answers on the board. what would grandma hate to find out that grandpa has been hiding from her for years? kumar. >> money. steve: money. kevin. >> uh, secret lover. steve: secret lover. >> yes. >> play. >> we'll play, sir. steve: his floozy. all right, they gonna play. >> all right.