Driver fatally shot, passenger on the run, after chase in Wake County, sheriff says

A 21-year-old driver who led a sheriff’s deputy on a chase Wednesday night crashed into a tree and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office said.

A passenger who fled remained at large Thursday.

The incident began around 8:30 p.m., when the deputy saw a white Mercedes Benz being driven recklessly on East Williams Street near U.S. 1 and running several cars off the road, according to a news release.

The deputy tried to stop the car, but the driver kept going.

Thursday afternoon, the Sheriff’s Office identified the driver as Jonah Alexander Luker.and said the Mercedes-Benz, while not reported stolen, had a fictitious license plate.

The deputy followed the car to Tryon Road, near Yates Mill Pond Road, when Luker ran off the road and crashed into a tree, the release stated. A passenger jumped out of the car and ran.

Luker suffered a self-inflected gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, the release stated.

The Sheriff’s Office did not say how fast the cars were traveling, or if any of the people in the cars run off the road were injured.

The News & Observer has asked the Sheriff’s Office for more information. The office got help Wednesday night from the Raleigh Police Department and the N.C. State Highway Patrol.

ABC11, The News & Observer’s news-gathering partner, spoke with a resident who was trying to get home to her husband Wednesday night.

“She said her husband heard rustling in the bushes behind their home when he saw officers with assault rifles and a large presence trying to track the man down,” the news station reported.

‘No known threat to the community’

“The search of the immediate area has concluded,” the Sheriff’s Office said in an update early Thursday morning. “Roving patrols will continue throughout the area. We are asking residents to continue to remain alert and secure their vehicles and homes.”

Later Thursday the Sheriff’s Office said it no longer believed the passenger was in the area of Tryon and Yates Mill Pond roads and that there was no known threat to the community.

“I want to thank the community for their cooperation and patience as we investigate the circumstances surrounding this incident,” Sheriff Willie Rowe said in the update.

Anyone with any information that may help investigators is asked to call the Wake County Sheriff’s Office at 919-856-6911.

This story was originally published March 21, 2024 at 8:13 AM.