to their rescue. >> it just was -- i happened to be driving by at that time. >> the north carolina doctor talked to channel 9 about the chaotic scene and the reason authorities say a driver sideswiped the bus. good morning to you, i'm stephanie maxwell. >> i'm john ahrens. we will have that and more. it feels a lot cooler out there than it did last week. >> yes, it does. and we had rain move through late last night that since moved out of the area. we're left with a little bit of cloud cover early this morning, but the clearing skies is going to allow the temperatures to drop here in the next couple of hours. we're in the 20s and 30s in the mountains. upper 30s and low 40s across the metro area. going out the door this morning. so for the kiddos this morning, break out the thick coats for them as they head to the bus stop this morning. we're cool this morning, but make it into the mid-50s this afternoon, so, slightly cooler than average, but we're tracking a couple of things as we head into the week. a chance of rain, as well as temperatures back into the 70s soon. we will talk more about that 5-

minutes. john? >> thank you, christine. in the breaking news center this morning as police investigate an armed robbery that happened an hour ago in south charlotte. station. investigators are there now. they told us someone walked in store. police have not been able to give us a description of that suspect yet. we are following this story. any details we get this morning, we'll have them here in the breaking news center. we checked with cmpd but they haven't made any arrests after a former cmpd dispatcher was found shot to death in east charlotte. jeff johnson was found shot in the woods last saturday morning near businesses and straufnlts people close to the crime scene told channel 9 they heard gunfire around 2:00 that morning. police say johnson was a happy person who never looked for trouble. >> he has a lot of friends in the community. like i said, he brought different types of people together and that's what i loved most about him.

off his back, help you anytime, drop whatever he's doing. good man. >> friends told us johnson was a night owl who sometimes took walks overnight. police have not indicated a motive or whether they have any suspects. the shooting was just one of two homicides this weekend. the other in west charlotte. police say jakori davis was found shot to death on donald ross road on saturday. investigators don't believe this was random. the shooting scene was right next to a ymca where families had been visiting all day. no one has been arrested. channel 9 is staying on top of both of these investigations. you can sign up to have alerts sent to your phone when new information develops. go to wsoc.com, click on the news tab and scroll to alert signup. two days since police say an attempted murder suspect cut off his electronic monitor.

christopher crittenden. along with the attempted first- degree murder charge, he faces robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery charges. this morning, president obama is in cuba, marking the first presidential visit to that country in nearly 90 years. the president and first family will be there 48 hours and the schedule is packed. today, he will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the jose marty memorial. he will meet with raoul castro, but not fidel. tuesday, the president will join castro for a baseball game between cuba's national game and the tampa bay rays. the trip focuses on potential trade and business opportunities. >> this is a historic visit and a historic opportunity to engage directly with the cuban people and to forge new agreements and commercial deals to build new ties between our two peoples.

taking no offense that cuban president raoul castro didn't greet the president upon his arrival in havana. the obama administration says it was never discussed and said this morning's ceremony with the president and castro is the official welcome event. we continue to follow new events in the plane that crashed in southern russia this weekend. investigators say they may get useful information after all from at least one of the black boxes. we told you yesterday experts say the recorders were badly damaged, but a member of the investigating committee says the quality of material on the data recorder is high. all 62 people on board were killed when the plane crashed while trying to land in windy conditions. this morning, we're asking troopers why a driver was going the wrong way on i-485, causing a crash that killed him and another driver. state troopers say victor castillo died when louise manacho record into him yesterday morning. police say he was driving the

north carolina has seen a rise in wrong-way crashes. back in december, troopers told us they are up 34 percent. they say many wrong-way driving cases involve alcohol. a north carolina doctor says it was god's will that he drove by this school bus crash over the weekend in indiana. dr. mark of asheville says he was on his way to a friend's funeral in wisconsin when he saw the bus flipped over, he knew he had to stop. the bus had a high school basketball team on board. take a look at the damage done to this. the surgeon says he rushed in to help the students and coaches with the most serious injuries first. >> when i first got out of the car, it's hard to imagine that anybody could have gotten out of that bus okay. it was all -- you could tell from across the way, it was flattened. >> all 27 people survived this crash. police say a car sideswiped the bus, causing it to flip. the driver told police she

that's what caused her to lose control. leaders at the statehouse hope to head back to raleigh this week to respond to charlotte's non-discrimination ordinance. the ordinance is set to take effect april 1st. it would prevent businesses from discriminating against customers based on sexual preference or identity. the controversy is over a part of the law that allows people who are transgender to use public bathrooms based on the gender they identify with. after protesting in charlotte friday, the coalition plans to head to raleigh today to push the governor and lawmakers to hold a special session and take immediate action on the ordinance. south carolina paid about 40 $40 million to settle road claims and lawsuits against the state d.o.t.. coming up at 4:55, the common road problem the majority of those claims were for. and state troopers are searching for answers after a shelby high school student was hit and killed this weekend. the reason authorities believe she was standing in the road

but first, some local neighbors will come together today to try to stop a retail development near their homes.

tenden. 20 minutes until 5:00. today, residents can voice concerns about a controversial

the proposed project on bawly school road would include an academy sports store,a costco and six other businesses. some neighbors signed a petition against it, saying their home values will suffer. town officials are set to vote on the project today. we told you last week a mooresville pastor is opposed to the shopping center for multiple reasons. he says there will be a full- scale gun shop, putting them less than 100 yards from a church. they say that would violate the plan against big bucks stores. and a die-in in front of duke energy headquarteresin uptown. they're angry over the coal ash cleanup. contamination levels haven't changed near the ponds and the agency would lower the standards for safe drinking water. a shelby teen hit and killed over the weekend. her boyfriend badly injured. the reason investigators

car, got out in the middle of the road. and this stretch of road in chester county has been nicknamed dead man's curve. the step county officials will take today to try to make the road safer in the future. and it may officially be spring, but we're going to need to hold onto the winter coats the next couple of mornings.

orei. 4:44 now. look at that, 39 degrees out there right now. definitely a cool start to our spring and christine wrap says it could be cooler here soon. wait to see what she's saying about tomorrow and the rest of the week here coming up in a few minutes. troopers are looking into whether an argument between a boyfriend and a girlfriend led to a death in shelby. >> police say a car hit the 16- year-old and her boyfriend after getting out of their vehicle at the corner of borders in oak grove roads early saturday. copes died. troopers say she was a student at shelby high school. >> it's tragic, 16 years old, in a relationship, die in the middle of the roadway, yes, family took it hard. >> parks was taken to cmc and is expected to recover. troopers plan to interview him when he's well enough to speak. new information this morning about a south carolina firefighter who was killed on the job.

for christopher ray, who authorities say was hit and killed by one of the department's fire engines while out on a call. ray was on the fire truck when he fell off and was run over by the truck as it was backing up. ray leaves behind a wife and two daughters. highway patrol is investigating the crash. this week, prayer vigils and events to remember the greenville, south carolina police officer shot and killed in the line of duty. a 17-year-old gang member shot and killed officer allen jacobs on friday. authorities say jacobs was questioning that teen about a gun purchase when the suspect took off and fired at jacobs. police say the teen then shot and killed himself. jacob's patrol car has been turned into a shrine. you can see the flowers there, along with other tribute as. he was a decorated war veteran, married with two children and a third child on the way. the funeral will be thursday. today, honoring four officers involved in a shootout

who shot lieutenant james when he and three other officers responded to a disturbance call on coachman's terrace last may. they will honor the four officers for the actions above and beyond the call of duty. the ceremony will be at 7:00 this evening at the cornelius town hall. this morning, immigration officials agreed to delay a durham teen's planned deportation from the u.s. customs picked up david acosta in late january. he admitted he crossed the mexican border two years ago, but said it was to escape gang violence. the 19-year-old's family says they feared gangs will kill him if he returns to his home country. on saturday, dozens marched here in charlotte to call attention to an 18-year- old who's in the mecklenburg county jail. protestors believe u.s. immigration officials waited until he turned 18, targeted him, then raised him at a bus stop. a spokesperson said they're following orders from judges and immigration courts and are

some south carolina senators are proposing all refugees register with the government. the measure being proposed would hold a refugee sponsor liable if the refugee commits an act of terrorism. a spokesperson for the council says the south carolina bill is likely unconstitutional and they say it's certainly un- american. turning to weather now, definitely a cool start. we're above 39 degrees out there. christine wrap has a look at the forecast in severe weather center 9. not the way a lot of people want to start spring. >> no, not at all. we have cloud cover now, we had rain late last night, early this morning, that's cleared out of the area, but you may find wet roads out there, especially in the mountains. you may find slick conditions where temperatures are well below freezing. 29 now in jefferson. 40 at charlotte airport. 40 in monroe. 39 in shelby. in the morning hours, not much

lunchtime hour. we will have the sunshine around for 12:00, 30s in the mountains. with the sunshine this afternoon, it will help temperatures make it into the mid-50s. we will be 10 degrees below where we usually are this time of year. 41 this afternoon in jefferson. in the evening, have the jacket on hand, especially to the game later tonight or anywhere awe uptown, temperatures will be chilly. the clear skies tonight will allow temperatures really to drop. this is what we're looking at this time tomorrow morning, so, tuesday morning, by far, the coldest morning we will have. upper 20s in the mountains. this time tomorrow morning at freezing in the metro area. with that in mind, we do have freeze and frost concerns. see a freeze watch is in effect for the counties here in the dark blue, including mecklenburg county. a frost advisory to the east, so make sure if you have plants indoors, whatever necessary because it is going to be chilly tomorrow morning.

start the day, by tuesday and wednesday afternoon, temperatures rebound quite nicely. mid-60s tuesday afternoon. mid-70s by wednesday. really, the cooldown is pretty brief. we will have the spring-le conditions around really by tomorrow afternoon. we will bring in extra cloud cover on thursday. chance of rain returns by friday afternoon as temperatures stay in the mid- 60s and, of course, weekend always in view, it's monday morning, looking ahead and temperatures will be mild, mid- 60s and a chance of rain. so, the good news is the cool down is brief and we need the extra rain, we only got a 10th of an inch over the weekend. >> we get back on track here. >> yes, this cooldown is only for 24 hours. today, single game tickets for the first round of the text nba playoffs will go on sale. you can buy tickets for the first three potential home games for the hornets online, on the mobile app or at time warner arena box office. dates and times won't be set until the enof the regular season.

tonight, charlotte city council will talk about a plan to take away trash services from certain residents. ahead at 5:00 a.m., the reason the city has been pushing for the plan for years. chester county officials want the state d.o.t. to do a traffic study after several crashes on a stretch of

curve. 4:53. today, the chester county

carolina's d.o.t. to study a deadly stretch of highway 9 nicknamed dead man's curve. there have been several crashes on that stretch of road, including this one on march 7th. troopers say a work van crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a logging truck head on. the d.o.t. study would look at how many vehicles travel that road every day, crashes and deaths. the meeting is tonight at 6:00 at the for the lawn community center on main street in fort lawn. south carolina's paid $40 million since 2010 to settle road claims and lawsuits against the transportation department and many of those claims involved damages caused by potholes. the number of claims average 26 2600 during the past two years. transportation officials have said it will cost an additional 1.2 $1.2 billion year for nearly three decades to bring the state's road and bridges up to excellent condition. the average price of gas has jumped, up about $0.17 in

analysts say the hike is due to grow ag demand across the nation and higher crude oil prices. the increase is part of a trend that's seeing the price spike nearly a quarter in four weeks. here's a look at what you will be paying around charlotte today. the average is $1.86. the state average is $1.88. in south carolina, it's about $1.75. you can find the cheapest prices in your neighborhood by using the wsoc tv gas tracker. it's on our web site, tab. a lot of folks heading out on the roads now. here's mark taylor. >> stephanie, right now we're looking live outside at 77, heading down from davison, both directions moving smoothly. no big issues. construction was scheduled until 5:00 from mooresville south to catawba avenue. they wrapped up early. all travel lanes are open to you. no problems heading to uptown charlotte. christine? wet roads out there, as well.

late last night. this morning, now, we have clouds out there and that continues the next couple of hours. it's a chilly start to the day, though. temperatures in the upper 30s as you head out the door. by lunchtime, upper 40s. plenty of sunshine throughout the midday and afternoon hours, though. 56 is all we will do today here for the second day of spring, about 10 degrees below average, but that sun is going to make a big difference, especially compared to yesterday. we will track the 70s soon to return if you're not ready for the cooler conditions. charlotte city council will decide whether to rezone seven acres in south park to allow developers to build. it would mean tearing down sharon methodist church. ahead, why the church is okay with all of this. weather and traffic every 10 minutes. eyewitness news daybreak 5:00

is next. hi, guys! spring is almost here and you know what that means! easter is hopping along. so, if you're looking to stretch your dollar this easter holiday, just look at these savings at your local walmart. charlotte, in head-to-head shopping, the total amount saved at walmart vs. bi-lo was $15.47... that's 11% on this week's easter basket. why shop anywhere else? fill your basket with walmart's every day low prices and get big savings. start shopping with walmart's every day low prices today.

d right now, channel 9 is following breaking news in south charlotte. police are on the scene of an armed robbery at a gas station. the questions we are asking investigators about this crime and the search for a suspect. and right now, we're tracking a blast of cold air across the area.

this morning, and the timeline for when we'll see temperatures back in the 70s. good morning, thanks for joining us. i'm john paul. >> i'm stephanie maxwell. let's check on the first forecast. meteorologist christine rapp is in severe weather center 9. this weather this morning is a curve ball for us. >> you know, it really is. we have officially started the season of spring, but definitely not feeling like it this morning. you will likely need the thick coats as you head out this morning. across the metro area, middle to upper 30s. 38 in charlotte, 38 in belmont. 38 in waxon. a bit of a wider view, the areas that could see icy conditions, in the mountains this morning, upper 20s, low 30s as you head out the door. allow extra time and the kiddos are bundled up this morning. may have to break back out the winter koerkts as i mentioned. 35. we will continue to drop as the sun rises in the next couple of hours, but for today, we will start to see the clouds clear, we will have sunshine by the afternoon, but probably not going to help out much.

monday afternoon forecast and what's ahead coming up in a few minutes. here's traffic team 9's mark taylor with traffic. >> it's quiet for the commute this morning. but we've got roadwork later this morning. we're going get you caught up on it. 12th street will close again between brevard and college for storm drainage work. that is scheduled to last from 7:00 a.m. this morning until about the afternoon rush on friday. so, to get around at 9th street coming from brevard college back to 12th, again, that closes around 7:00 a.m. here's the john belk freeway, here's what it looks like for folks getting onto 7th. no issues. john? we begin in the breaking news center this morning, police are investigating an armed robbery in south charlotte. we've got video we want to show you here. this is on park road and wood lawn. it happened around 3:30 this