Police chase ends in Garner crash

GARNER, N.C.

The crash happened at Timber Drive and Thompson Road.

» Click here for Google map of the area. «

The chase began just before 11 a.m. when a trooper spotted a car believed to have been involved in a Wake County burglary.

Three minutes after the pursuit began, the car being chased took a turn too wide and t-boned a car driven by a woman who had just dropped her son off at school. She was not hurt but was shaken up.

"They came from there and turned and hit me and just pushed my car this way," said crash victim Jamie Parker.

Parker said the passenger in the other car just sat there looking at her with a blank stare, but the driver immediately jumped and ran with a trooper right behind him.

"He was trying to flee, flee the scene," said Sgt. Curtis manning of the Highway Patrol. "The trooper gave chase and Tased him as a result."

Manning says the Taser stopped James Elias in his tracks and forced paramedics to take him to WakeMed for treatment. His passenger, Matthew Bagley, remained behind in handcuffs.

Both are suspected, according to authorities, of burglarizing homes near Garner Friday morning. A trooper who tried to stop the suspects said they took off going 65 miles per hour on Timber Drive.

That's when they hit Parker while trying to make the turn into Heather Springs. Parker had just dropped her child off at daycare.

"It's also the same side that my son would have been on, said Parker."So, yeah, that upset me."

Parker initially said she had no problem with police chases that end up making innocents like her into victims, but she would have felt differently had her son been in the car and injured.

"I would feel a little different but I know that they are trying to do their job and trying to keep everybody safe," said Parker.

"We have to stop them.  That's a constant debate we go at," said Manning. "We wrack our brains as to how to keep this from happening.  I wish we had a magic button we could stop it from happening.  Unfortunately it continues to go on."

The Highway Patrol has a slew of charges pending against the Elias. However, neither he nor his passenger has been officially charged yet.

See It On TV | Report A Typo |  Send Tip |  Get Alerts | Send us photos
Follow @abc11 on Twitter  |  Become a fan on Facebook

Copyright © 2024 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.