Tracking high-speed chases: WRAL covers 4 chases in 5 days, one deadly
A high-speed chase ended in a crash Tuesday in Knightdale, causing a power outage for hundreds of customers. It was at least the fourth law enforcement chase so far in the month of June.
WRAL News has covered more than 40 chases so far in 2024 and four chases in the month of June.
On Tuesday in Knightdale, authorities said the chase reached speeds up to 100 mph in a 55 mph speed zone before the driver crashed into a utility pole. The driver was taken to the hospital and will be charged with driving while impaired.
It was the fourth chase WRAL News has covered in the last five days.
On Sunday night, a Wake County crash that started with a chase killed an 18-year-old man and injured another driver near Rolesville.
On Monday, two people were taken into custody after leading state troopers on a chase through Johnston County. Also on Monday, in Person County, a chase ended with two cars crashing into one another on U.S. Highway 501. The drivers of both cars were taken to Duke Hospital.
According to Highway Patrol, the chase started in Wilson Mills off of U.S. 70 and reached speeds of 145 mph.
The State Highway Patrol was averaging nearly three chases a day in 2022, a year when 24 people died as a result of these pursuits.
In May, WRAL News reported the number of chases involving the State Highway Patrol has more than doubled in recent years:
- In 2019, there were 454 chases
- In 2022, there were 1,053 chases
- Data was not available for 2023
Lt. Mike Fleer with the Wake County Sheriff's Office said a chase is a situation that can unfold in split seconds, and deputies are calculating the entire time to weigh the risk versus apprehension.
"It's constantly running through your head," said Fleer. "From the time you flip on the blue lights and try to get a vehicle to stop until the chase is concluded. You're constantly reevaluating and trying to figure out if you need to go on or stop."
There is no centralized database tracking all law enforcement pursuits across the state, so it's unclear exactly how vast this issue is.
Data shared with WRAL News by the Wake County Sheriff's Office indicates chases in 2024, so far, are on pace for the most chases in the past five years.
