2 juveniles, 4 others injured in stolen vehicle chase, crash in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A woman led police on a chase that ended in a crash on Sunday, sending two juveniles and four others to the hospital.

Just before noon, Raleigh police officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the 3300 block of Six Forks Road on a stolen vehicle involved in a robbery.

Police said the suspect pulled over but then drove away.

The female driver of the vehicle sped down Atlantic Avenue until it hit another vehicle on Wake Forest Road near the Capital Boulevard intersection. Two other vehicles were also hit during the collision.

When officers arrived they found two juveniles, two men and two women injured in the crash. They were taken to a hospital or treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

ABC11 spoke with a Raleigh woman who said she saw the end of the police pursuit when her stoplight turned green -- she hesitated.

"And if I hadn't done that, I think I very reasonably could have been hit," said Amanda Vargochik.

She said she was on her way to Seaboard Station with her 4-year-old son around noon, seconds before this pursuit came to an end.

"I pulled over because I could hear sirens behind me pretty immediately coming to the scene," Vargochik said.

She said that is when the crash happened.

"And the officers were getting out of their cars. Guns drawn. Focused on that person. And got down on the ground, hands behind her back. Laid on the ground," Vargochik said.

According to RPD policy on pursuits, vehicle chases are prohibited unless someone in the vehicle has committed a felony that has threatened or caused physical harm to somebody.

Police guidelines also state, "a respect for human life" shall guide officers in determining when to engage or stop a chase, and shall do so with regard for the safety of others.

For Amanda and her son, it's being in the right place at the right time that kept them unharmed.

"Afterward it was very clear to me that if we would have been, it would have been exactly where he was sitting that we would have gotten hit based on where he was sitting and where that car was in relation to us. So I'm very grateful that we weren't a couple seconds early in that situation," she said.

Police said the driver of the suspect vehicle was taken into custody.

Officials have not released the names of the driver or victims.