A North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper's attempt to stop a speeding teenager on U.S. 421 ended Friday night in a head-on collision that killed both drivers, after the fleeing driver crossed into oncoming lanes near the Chatham-Lee County line. Justin Williams, 21, of Raeford, was driving in the correct direction when his car was struck around 8:47 p.m.; Eric Wheeler, 19, of Waldorf, Maryland, the driver being pursued, also died in the crash. A passenger in Williams' vehicle was taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.
According to cbs17.com, a trooper first tried to stop Wheeler after clocking him driving 92 mph in a 65-mph zone near the Chatham-Lee County line. Wheeler failed to stop for the patrol car's lights and siren, and troopers launched a pursuit. The same report, cited by ABC11 News, says the passenger was taken to UNC Chapel Hill and was suffering from non-life-threatening injuries.
The chase that followed took a convoluted and ultimately fatal path. Wheeler left U.S. 421 for secondary roads before rejoining the northbound lanes, then made a U-turn and used a median crossing to begin driving south directly into oncoming northbound traffic. That is where his vehicle struck Williams' car head-on, killing both men.
A Pattern Highway Patrol Has Faced Scrutiny Over Before
This was not an isolated tragedy in North Carolina's recent pursuit history. State trooper-led chases climbed by more than 130 percent between 2019 and 2022, according to the same reporting, and the number of Highway Patrol pursuits rose from 454 in 2019 to 1,061 in a later year referenced in the outlet's analysis. Speeding, the same violation that triggered Friday's pursuit, accounted for 63 percent of Highway Patrol pursuits in 2021, the outlet found.
The human toll of those pursuits has been steep. The outlet's reporting found that 24 people were killed in police chases statewide in 2022 alone, including 12 bystanders who had no connection to the pursuits that killed them. In that same year, 13 people were seriously injured and seven died specifically in Highway Patrol pursuits, and over a five-year span covered by the outlet, 29 people died and 49 were seriously hurt in Highway Patrol chases, including one trooper. One 2022 case cited in that reporting saw a pursuit reach 112 mph before the fleeing driver crossed the center line and struck a pickup truck head-on — a scenario echoing Friday's crash on U.S. 421.
What North Carolina Law Says About Fleeing a Trooper
Under North Carolina law, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer who is lawfully performing official duties is a criminal offense. According to the North Carolina General Assembly, General Statute 20-141.5 makes it unlawful to operate a vehicle on a street, highway or public vehicular area while fleeing an officer. Separately, policy guidance from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety states that sworn members are not to pursue suspect vehicles the wrong way on divided highways or one-way streets.
No further details about the investigation, any charges, or the condition of the surviving passenger beyond non-life-threatening injuries have been released. Williams' death adds his name to a growing list of North Carolina motorists killed by the drivers troopers set out to stop during pursuits.
