CREEDMOOR - A police chase ended Saturday when the suspect vehicle slammed into an oncoming car at 90 mph, killing two young sisters instantly. The suspect also died at the scene, authorities said.

Franklinton Police Chief Ray Gilliam said the suspect vehicle had been moving erratically and forcing other motorists off the road prior to the collision.

The deadly head-on wreck occurred about 2:45 p.m. on U.S. 15 at Sanders Road, about five miles north of Creedmoor and only a few miles from the sisters' home.

The suspect was Guy Christopher Ayscue, 38, of Skenes Avenue in Henderson, Gilliam said.

He said Franklinton Police Officer Mike Dunlap observed Ayscue's vehicle driving erratically on N.C. 56 West. Dunlap activated his emergency lights and siren in an attempt to pull Ayscue over. The pursuit went through Creedmoor and onto U.S. 15 North.

Meanwhile, Linsay Erin Lunsford, 18, of Sanders Road in Stem and her sister Maggie, 9, were travelling southbound. The pursuit had gone about five miles north of Creedmoor when Ayscue, in an attempt to pass a slower vehicle, crossed the double yellow line of the two-lane road near the top of a hill, said state Highway Patrol Sgt. R.P. Hargrove.

Ayscue, who was driving a 1988 Pontiac, slammed into Lunsford's 1999 Kia head-on at about 90 mph, Hargrove said.

"There were no skid marks," he said. "No time to brake."

Dunlap, the pursuing officer, swerved to avoid the collision. He was not injured.

When the chase began, Dunlap notified Franklin County 911 of the pursuit, which in turn alerted Granville County 911. In such instances, Creedmoor police, Granville sheriff's deputies and the state Highway Patrol are notified, Gilliam said. He did not know if any officers had time to deploy "stop sticks" as the chase unfolded rapidly.

Dunlap, who joined the department in 2005 and is the agency's traffic and K-9 officer, was placed on administrative leave with pay, standard procedure when civilians are seriously injured during police activity.

Gilliam, reached at his home Saturday evening, said he did not have on hand the department's pursuit policy. He declined to speculate on whether Dunlap performed correctly, deferring to the Highway Patrol's investigation.

"We're just trying to go back at our records in terms of the [911] tape of the chase itself," Gilliam said.

Ayscue had a lengthy criminal record including convictions for trespassing, breaking and entering, being intoxicated and disruptive, assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving, among others.

A man reached at the Lunsfords' home Saturday night declined to comment.

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