DURHAM — A Durham County sheriff’s patrol car collided with a suspect’s vehicle and crashed into a utility pole during a chase Monday morning in northern Durham.

It began at 9:29 a.m. near North Roxboro Street and Sandlewood Drive when a deputy in a marked patrol car tried to stop a silver 2009 Nissan Maxima that an off-duty detective had seen speeding southbound on U.S. 501, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The pursuit continued onto Duke Street, where deputies set up to deploy Stop Sticks at the intersection with Leon Street.

When the fleeing driver saw the deputies up ahead, he braked hard and the deputy that was pursuing him rear-ended the Maxima at Duke Street and Maynard Avenue.

The suspect then turned the car around and headed back north on Duke Street and turned left onto West Murray Avenue, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The deputy tried to follow but lost control of his damaged car and crashed into a power pole at West Murray Avenue and Wilbon Street. The deputy was not injured and his patrol car was towed from the scene.

Deputies found the Maxima at 12:18 p.m. near F and Broad streets. They seized it under the so-called “Run and You’re Done” law. The law, which took effect in December 2011, allows vehicles to be taken and has provisions for returning them to innocent owners.

In this case, deputies determined the registered owner was not the driver. They are trying to identify the driver, a man seen in a photograph wearing a sweatshirt that says “Flipping the Bird” on it.

The vehicle was occupied by two black males, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The driver was wearing a red hat, but deputies had no other descriptive details such as height, weight or age.