A prominent married gay male couple in Charlotte’s LGBTQ community died Tuesday, November 23, shortly after 9:00 p.m., in a fatal car crash in the University area.
Luke Drawdy, 32, and Restin Drawdy, 35, were pronounced dead at the scene by police officers who responded to an accident in the 9700 block of North Tryon Street.
According to the police report, officers found the Drawdy’s 2011 Audi Q5 SUV, which had sustained heavy damage overall, stopped in the northbound lane. Both of the men in the car were killed as a result of the accident.
Nearby officers found a 2017 Volkswagen Golf GTI with heavy front end damage, driven by Thomas Nix, 26. Nix was reported as having suffered minor injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital.
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police department’s major crash unit is currently investigating the collision and requesting anyone who witnessed the accident to contact authorities at 704-334-1600. Preliminary evidence confirms that the Drawdys were attempting to turn left in the Audi onto North Tryon Street from a side entrance of the shopping center Terraces at University.
At the same time Nix was traveling at a high rate of speed going southbound in the left lane on North Tryon Street. As the Drawdys attempted to turn left, it was struck by Nix’s Volkswagen on the driver’s side.
Nix has been charged with Driving While Impaired, two counts of felony Death by Motor Vehicle and Reckless Driving.
Posts across multiple social media platforms in response to the tragic accident indicated that many in the LGBTQ community were both angry and deeply saddened.
“Shocked is an understatement,” wrote one friend on Facebook. “I and many others are blessed to have called you friends. We love you, we miss you. We will never forget you.”
Restin Drawdy and the former Luke Joiner had been together as a couple since 2013. The two were married in 2015 and Joiner took Drawdy’s last name.
Luke Drawdy was an active member of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Charlotte and both had been a part of Stonewall Sports. Professionally, Luke worked in finance as an Assistant Vice President at Bank of America. Restin was an engineer with Verizon and also taught classes in advanced physical fitness.
The two men had just sold a house they owned on State Street November 14, and were excited because they had reportedly doubled the amount of money originally invested. Friends confirmed their plans to build what the Drawdys had referred to as their “dream home.”
From all indications, the Drawdys were a devoted and happy couple who were well-liked and lived life to the fullest.
A post dated February 14, 2019 from Luke’s Instagram account and dedicated to Restin was both telling and touching: “Happy Valentine’s Day to the best man I could ask for. You make me smile when I don’t want to. No matter how bad a day I have, I know you will turn it around. It’s been a great six-plus years and almost four years married! I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lives together [has] in store for us.”