WILSON'S MILLS, N.C. — (AP) — A driver stole a trailer loaded with lumber from a Johnston County construction site and led law enforcement officers on a high-speed pursuit on Thanksgiving Day, authorities said.
A Wilson’s Mills police officer stopped a pickup truck leaving a building site with a load of lumber early Thursday since there had been a lumber theft at the same site a week earlier, Chief A.Z. Williams said.
After stopping in the middle of the road, the driver sped off and got on U.S. Route 70 going the wrong way, forcing several cars to swerve to avoid collisions, Williams said.
Eventually the driver got onto the right side of the road and reached speeds of up to 100 mph, he said.
The truck got onto Interstate 95, where North Carolina State Highway Patrol put down spikes, which ripped the tires apart, but the truck kept going. The highway patrol said a trooper ended the pursuit around 7:30 a.m. at the Brogden Road exit.
In the truck, police found a loaded AR-15, cocaine and marijuana, Williams said.
Two men and a woman were arrested and face multiple charges, he said.
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