SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WNCN) — New video shows the moment a Harnett County deputy’s SUV collided with a truck during a Friday chase that left two people dead.
The suspect in the chase escaped after the collision around 2 p.m. at the intersection of N.C. 210 and Ray Road/Sandclay Drive near Spring Lake.
A new video shows the driver trying to cross the intersection just as the deputy’s marked SUV was heading south on N.C. 210 toward Spring Lake.
The deputy’s SUV crashed into the side of a pickup truck, killing Brian Anthony Finch, 65, and Patricia Lynn Finch, 64, both of Minnesota, according to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
The deputy, who was identified Monday as Kevin Joseph LeTarte, was injured in the crash, according to troopers.
Officials said the suspect drove through the intersection just before the deadly crash and escaped.
Bryan Edison works at a nearby auto shop he said he heard a large gust of air sweep through the intersection.
“Moments later for about half a second I heard sirens, and then a loud crash,” Edison said. “:It was barely even half a second, it was a blip of a siren and then I heard the impact.”
When he stepped outside and saw what happened he knew he needed to help. His boss told him to run inside and grab tools.
“I ran back and got some tools that’ll pry open the door and we eventually got it popped open and could get him some air from all the airbag fumes and the dust,” Edison said.
The deputy had a K-9 partner in the SUV during the crash. The K-9 deputy, named Beau, was not injured, officials said.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol is investigating the collision.