A 21-year-old Charlotte man is facing charges after his car struck a Robeson County deputy and a patrol vehicle during an illegal drifting event over the weekend, authorities say. Terell Harper was arrested following the collision at Thunder Valley Speedway and was later released on a $2,000 unsecured bond.
Harper was charged with injury to personal property and misdemeanor assault on a government official, according to WPDE. North Carolina's assault-on-a-government-official statute applies when someone assaults an officer or employee of the state or a local government while that person is carrying out official duties, per North Carolina General Assembly records, while the property-damage charge falls under a section of state law covering willful and wanton injury to personal property, according to the North Carolina General Assembly's statutes.
Deputies Say Crowd Surrounded Patrol Car
Deputies responded to Thunder Valley Speedway multiple times on Saturday after reports that vehicles involved in the event had struck attendees, the sheriff's office said. Officials ultimately decided to shut the event down entirely, citing safety concerns and the need to make sure emergency personnel could respond effectively if something went wrong.
Attendees reportedly refused to leave as deputies tried to clear the speedway, and several vehicles surrounded a deputy and his patrol car, according to the sheriff's office. It was during that standoff that Harper's vehicle struck the deputy and the patrol car while maneuvering around them, authorities said. A second patrol vehicle was also damaged by the crowd, per the release.
Pepperball Launchers Used to Disperse Crowd
Officers turned to pepperball launchers to break up the crowd after attendees threatened deputies' safety and interfered with their efforts to manage the scene, the sheriff's office said. Deputies seized Harper's vehicle as part of the response.
Investigators are reviewing officers' body camera footage along with social media videos from the event as the case continues, and authorities say they anticipate additional arrests. It is not the first time the property has drawn scrutiny — a similar event there was shut down in February after injuries and safety concerns, according to the sheriff's office.
Nuisance Abatement Process Could Follow
The Robeson County Sheriff's Office said it plans to contact North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement for help initiating a nuisance-abatement process involving the property. That division is authorized under Chapter 19 of the state's general statutes to investigate alleged public nuisances and recommend actions to abate them, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.
Collisions involving patrol vehicles have made headlines elsewhere in the state recently. A vehicle flipped after colliding with a Buncombe County sheriff's vehicle, temporarily shutting down part of Interstate 26, according to the WLOS. Robeson County authorities have asked anyone with information about the Thunder Valley Speedway incident to come forward as the investigation moves forward.
