Police: 2 injured, driver arrested after 20-mile chase

HICKORY, N.C. — Two people went to the hospital and a driver was arrested after a chase that started in Alexander County ended in Hickory, according to police.
 
The driver crashed at Highway 321 and Clement Boulevard in Hickory, officials said. The car crashed into two cars and injured a person in each car.
 
Police said they are searching for a passenger who jumped and ran from the car. The driver was arrested, according to police.

Video showed a silver Toyota as it raced south along Highway 127 in Hickory with an Alexander County sheriff deputy in hot pursuit.  

 "Scary. My wife was right there. She could have been going through the intersection and we might be going to the hospital," said witness Robert Garrison.

Officials said a chase started 20 miles away in Alexander County.

The driver told Channel 9 that he didn't immediately pull over because he was scared.
Two drivers ended up getting hurt but the driver of the Toyota was unscathed and he explained what happened.  
 
"Someone shot at us and we ran and then the cop blue-lighted us and wouldn't stop pushing us over the road.  Why didn't you just pull over?    We would have pulled over if he hadn't stopped pushing us.   We were scared," he said.
 
Deputies said they started the chase after spotting the car driving carelessly and recklessly south of Taylorsville.   Garrison was at the scene when the chase ended and he helped police make the arrest.  
 
"I saw the car fly through the intersection and the cop car behind it so the people didn't in the middle of the intersection didn't have a chance," said Robert Garrison's wife, Kathleen Garrison.
 
Police said injuries to the other drivers are not serious. Deputies said they are still trying to identify a passenger spotted in the car who ran from the scene.  
 
The driver of the Toyota is blaming deputies for the mess.
"I apologize for the accident.  You could have killed somebody? That cop could have killed somebody," he said.
 
The Sheriff's Office does have a chase policy. They will review their actions Tuesday following this pursuit. That driver faces several charges including felony speeding to elude.

WSOC