CHARLOTTE Police said a man was trying to get his two young children out of a locked car on Sunday when he fell on a knife he had grabbed to try to open the car's window.
The knife stabbed Miguel Angel Rivera Lemus, 22, in his chest. He later died at Carolinas Medical Center.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg homicide detectives were still investigating the death on Sunday, but said in a news release that "all of the evidence and witness statements point to (Lemus' death) being a tragic accident."
Authorities said Lemus and his common-law wife had gone to their south Charlotte apartment Sunday afternoon to pick something up before they headed out for another errand. Police said the couple, without realizing it, closed their car doors with their keys and children inside.
Frantic, police said, the couple tried to find a way to open the car. The wife searched for a spare set of keys. Lemus, meanwhile, grabbed a large butcher knife which police believe he was going to use to pry open the car's window.
But as Lemus went out of the apartment, he fell down six stairs and landed on the knife.
Police said he managed to return to the apartment unit and asked his wife to call 911. She had been able to get the children out of the car using a spare set of keys.
The children were not injured, police said.
Police and Medic arrived at the apartment unit around 3:30 p.m. Sunday, saw an injured Lemus and rushed him to the hospital. He died a short time later.
