Wake Sheriff’s Office investigating fatal crash following deputy’s chase
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a fatal wreck involving a deputy chasing a fleeing driver.
Deputies responded to a communicating threats call near Wagstaff and Cricket Knoll roads Sunday night, spokesman Eric Curry said Monday.
As a deputy arrived on the scene, the suspect crashed into his car and sped away. The deputy followed for about a mile and lost sight of the car, Curry said in a news release
Continuing the chase, the deputy saw that the fleeing suspect had lost control of the car and crashed near the Harnett County line, the release said.
The driver died at the scene and an injured passenger was taken to WakeMed.
The driver’s name was not released.
The State Highway Patrol is also investigating the traffic accident.
In June, the Sheriff’s Office trained deputies for a new chase policy, which allowed supervisors to call off long, high-speed pursuits that put other drivers in danger. The News & Observer was not able to find out from the Sheriff’’s Office Monday afternoon if that policy was followed Sunday.
A video shot by a witness and forwarded to the N&O showed a car against a tree on Wagstaff Road with people trapped inside, yelling to get out.
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 1:24 PM.