Fayetteville woman leads police on high-speed chase
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Fayetteville woman led authorities on a 20 mile, high-speed chase through Cumberland County Tuesday afternoon.
It started off on John Brady Road in Hope Mills. Around 1:00 p.m., a Hope Mills police officer said he stopped Rachel Marie Godwin, 28, for expired tags. When Officer C. Joseph realized Godwin's mini-van was reported stolen from Pender County, he called for backup.
At that point, Godwin took off at 80 miles per hour, weaving through Hope Mills, into downtown Fayetteville and along Eastern Boulevard. She then hit Highway 24 before crashing off Maxwell Road near Stedman.
During the chase, Godwin hit a Hope Mills police car and a dump truck.
Early on in the chase, William Nichols saw Godwin headed straight toward him, as she drove the wrong way on George Owen Drive near Camden Road.
"As fast as she was going, when she went by me, I couldn't even see her face," Nichols said. "It was such a blur. She was going so fast."
Nichols said he put his handicapped son down in the back seat, and braced for the hit, but Godwin barely missed them.
"I figured she was going to hit us any way so I tried to turn the car at an angle so she could at least hit the front end and not hit me head-on," he said.
Godwin was arrested after she crashed in the woods off Maxwell Road. She's facing a number of charges related to the chase, as well as possession of a stolen vehicle, and assault on a government official.
Authorities said more charges may be filed. There was no bond information immediately available for Godwin.
