CHRIS SEWARD - cseward@newsobserver.com
Officers from the Highway Patrol and the Wake County Sheriff's Office work the scene where a chase concluded on Airport Boulevard near the top of the I-40 westbound ramp in Morrisville this moirning.
A man led the state Highway Patrol on a chase on Interstate 40 through much of Wake County this morning, before being stopped and arrested near Airport Boulevard.
The chase began about 8:45 a.m. when a Wake County sheriff's deputy stopped a pink Lincoln Mercury Grand Marquis for a traffic violation at Jones Sausage Road and U.S. 70, according to the sheriff's office. When the deputy approached the car on foot, the driver drove off, the sheriff's office said.
The sheriff's office identified the man at Randel Levone Riggsbee, 32, of 503 Sykes St. in Chapel Hill.
Riggsbee took U.S. 70 to I-40 and headed westbound on I-40 toward Research Triangle Park. The state Highway Patrol joined the pursuit, which reached speeds in excess of 85 mph.
Riggsbee's front left tire was punctured when he ran over devices set out to by the Highway Patrol, but he kept driving. He took the exit ramp to Airport Boulevard, where he lost control and hit a Jeep, according to the Highway Patrol. He ran into the woods, where he was quickly caught.
Police took an "undetermined amount of currency" from Riggsbee's car, but a sheriff's department spokeswoman declined to say why authorities seized the cash.
