Crashed Camaro was 1 of 4 high-end sports cars stolen from Clayton car auction lot, police say

CLAYTON, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Monday morning, employees at the IAA automotive lot reported a small group of suspicious people in their parking lot.

Those people, according to employees, stole four vehicles from the auto auction lot on Sadisco Road in Clayton.

Law enforcement said a Dodge Challenger Demon, Dodge Charger Hellcat, Chevrolet Camaro, and Chevrolet Corvette were all stolen off the lot.

A short time later, deputies with the Johnston County Sheriff's Office spotted the Corvette and began to chase the vehicle.

The driver of the Camaro, a 17-year-old boy from Charlotte, crashed the vehicle into a construction zone utility pole at US 70 and Wilson's Mills Road.

"At first I thought it was a fatality because the vehicle was totaled. The whole front end was smashed in," said Wilson's Mills Police Chief A.Z. Williams. "I don't know how anyone could walk away from that, but he did."

The teen not only walked away but ran away from deputies before being caught behind a nearby Family Dollar.

Meanwhile, the driver of the Corvette was spotted by North Carolina State Highway Patrol deputies conducting routine enforcement on US 421 just before 10 a.m.

According to the NCSHP, troopers pursued the driver for three minutes before he jumped out of the car and ran on US 64 in Siler City. Troopers and K-9 handlers at the NC Department of Correction searched for the suspect but were unsuccessful in their efforts to catch him.

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A spokesperson for the NCSHP said speeds reached 111 mph in a 65 mph zone. When the suspect ran, law enforcement said Virginia Cross Elementary School and a local Walmart were put on lockdown.

The Hellcat and Demon have yet to be recovered.

If you have any information, you're asked to contact the Johnston County Sheriff's Office.