By Mark Price
The Charlotte Observer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A teenage driver who successfully escaped North Carolina deputies in a high-speed car pursuit was later caught in an unexpected way — when his mother turned him in, according to the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.
Her reason?
The 19-year-old was driving her Dodge Charger during the pursuit, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
It happened Saturday, July 8, on southbound Interstate 85, and investigators say the driver drew attention to himself by speeding past a deputy’s patrol car and switching his headlights off. Rowan County is just northeast of Charlotte.
“The vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed and the deputy initiated a traffic stop on the same for the violation. The vehicle stopped briefly before speeding off in an attempt to evade the traffic stop,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Deputies pursued and the vehicle continued swerving in and out of traffic and turning his lights off. ... The vehicle exited in Charlotte and after taking several side roads the driver and passenger jumped and ran from the vehicle causing the vehicle to collide into a fence.”
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department aircraft and K-9 units were then brought in to search the area, but the driver escaped, officials said.
However, the car itself proved to be an essential clue.
“Deputies spoke to the owner of the vehicle and discovered it was her son. The mother brought her son ... to the sheriff’s office,” officials said.
The teenager was charged with felony fleeing to elude with a motor vehicle and given a $3,500 secured bond, officials said.
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