Driver of stolen car still on run after leading police on chase, crashing into yard

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police are looking for a driver who led state troopers on a chase on I-77 that ended in a quiet neighborhood near Clanton Road in Charlotte.

Police said a trooper spotted the car with a fake tag and tried to pull the driver over.

Police assisted state troopers as the driver sped off leading them on a chase down Crestridge Drive.

Witnesses said the driver split through two homes, grazed a few cars before hitting a tree in a neighbor’s yard.

"They were probably going 60 to 70 miles per hour," said Tanner Morris, who witnessed the car end in his backyard. "We heard something in the backyard go boom, and I was like, ‘What in the world was that?’"

Morris said he was outside with his fiancé a little after 5 p.m., putting up Christmas lights when they saw a state trooper and several police cars chasing a white vehicle.

Neighbors said children as young as five years old were outside playing at the time of the chase through their neighborhood.

"He sideswiped the neighbors' cars in the yard and then ran all the way in the back,” Morris said. “The kids were out there. They were there helping their dad rake the yard.”

Police said the car was stolen.After the crash, the driver jumped out and ran. The passenger was taken into custody, but police are still looking for the driver.

“To be honest, I’m still a little shaken up,” Morris said. “It could have been way worse than what it was.”

Cox Media Group