A high-speed chase through Gastonia on Tuesday left an innocent woman badly bruised after the fleeing driver's car slammed into hers as she crossed an intersection on South New Hope Road. The man behind the wheel, 41-year-old Jamario Rickenbacker, was taken into custody near South New Hope Road and Armstrong Park Drive and now faces a long list of charges tied to the pursuit.
Chase Began Near Noon, Ended in a Crash
According to WSOC-TV, the chase began at about noon Tuesday and wound through Gastonia before Rickenbacker's car hit the woman's car as she was crossing the intersection. The woman was badly bruised from the crash and was recovering at home afterward. She told the station she was glad she unintentionally helped bring the pursuit to an end.
Officers arrested Rickenbacker near South New Hope Road and Armstrong Park Drive, the station's report states. The reason for the initial traffic stop that triggered the chase was not made clear in the station's reporting.
A Stack of Charges Follows the Pursuit
Rickenbacker faces charges that include fleeing or eluding arrest, felony hit-and-run causing injury, reckless driving to endanger, driving left of center, failure to stop at a red light, failure to heed a light or siren, and resisting a public officer, per the same account. Under North Carolina law, fleeing to elude arrest is addressed by G.S. 20-141.5, which the North Carolina General Assembly titles “Speeding to elude arrest.”
Reckless driving, as defined under state statute, is classified as a Class 2 misdemeanor, according to the General Assembly's text of G.S. 20-140. The resisting-officers charge stems from a separate statute describing the willful and unlawful resisting, delaying, or obstructing of a public officer while that officer is discharging or attempting to discharge an official duty, according to G.S. 14-223.
Suspect Posted Bond, Faces Court Wednesday
Rickenbacker posted $10,000 bond and was released from jail Tuesday, the station's report notes. He was due in court for a first appearance the following day. No outcome from that court date had been reported at the time of the station's coverage.
