Locust chase ends in Charlotte crash; driver had missing teen in car, police say

CHARLOTTE — Police said a driver and his 17-year-old child were hurt in a crash after he failed to stop for Locust police, initiating a chase into east Charlotte. The teen was reported missing and endangered from another county.

A Channel 9 crew arrived at the scene a little after 6 a.m. Tuesday and could see Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers blocking the inbound side of Albemarle Road at Faulconbridge Road. Our crew could see a damaged car sitting next to a tree.

In a news release, officers with the Locust Police Department said the chase began just before 5:30 a.m. Tuesday. They said it started with a call about a potential stolen vehicle that was headed toward Locust. Police said they received more information that a missing and endangered 17-year-old was inside the car as well.

Locust police said they found the car and saw it run a red light in town, at the intersection of Main Street and Central Avenue. Officers tried to pull the car over but it began to speed away, police said. They tried to throw out stop sticks but were unsuccessful, authorities said.

A Locust officer pursued the car all the way to Albemarle Road in Charlotte, police said. They came to Faulconbridge Road -- about 17 miles from where the chase started -- and that was when the car involved, while trying to get around other cars, lost control and hit a tree on the side of the road, Locust police said.

Police confirmed the teen inside the car had been reported missing from Moore County. They were hurt but were expected to be released from the hospital Tuesday morning, police said.

The driver, who police believe is the teen’s non-custodial biological father, was seriously hurt in the crash and is in critical condition at the hospital, Locust police said.

A neighbor who lives just feet away told Channel 9′s Dan Matics he saw the whole thing come to an end.

“And I heard this big ‘bang’ and I said, ‘somebody’s had another wreck out on Albemarle Road, pulling out or something.’ So I come walking out here, got on the porch,” Donald Hutto said. “I looked out and I said ‘wow, there’s already police cars out here.’ And when I got to the edge of the porch over there, there was three cops with their guns drawn and another one had a hammer busting the windshields out. They told me to go back in the house.”

Police said they are not releasing the name of the man or the teen yet, but said they are in the process of charging the man with felony flee to elude, along with any other applicable charges.

CMPD is investigating the crash. Per protocol, Locust police are assessing whether the chase that led to the crash followed department policy.

The blockage of the road Tuesday morning caused major delays. CMPD announced the closure of the road around 6:45 a.m. and said they were controlling traffic and helping with the investigation.

Locust Police Department Chief Jeff B. Shew shared the following statement with Channel 9:

“All initial facts that we have at this time from a preliminary standpoint indicate that policy and procedure were followed both in the initiation of the pursuit and the actions during the pursuit. A thorough review is conducted of every LPD pursuit however which takes several days and will also include findings by CMPD’s crash investigation unit so the preliminary finding is not yet our final finding. We have no set time frame on when that would be.”

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

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