UNION COUNTY, N.C. — Chopper 9 Skyzoom was overhead as authorities loosely followed a truck speeding, swerving and even driving the wrong direction on Interstate 485.
The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department’s helicopter started following a truck Monday morning from Charlotte to Union County and then back into Charlotte.
Police said they got a license plate reader hit for a possible stolen vehicle and followed the truck.
At one point, the truck got on I-485 and could be seen going backwards on the shoulder. The truck went backwards for at least 100 feet until it could get off at Lawyers Road.
Moments later, the driver appeared to be swerving onto the grass to go around other drivers. The driver also ran several red lights, narrowly missing cars at intersections.
The truck then got back on I-485, traveling in the wrong direction. The truck could also be seen going inbound on the outbound side of Independence Boulevard in Stallings. The truck crossed several lanes of traffic, almost hitting multiple cars.
Once the truck got back into south Charlotte, Chopper 9 Skyzoom could see the driver eventually stop the truck, jump out and run away near Charlotte Latin School. Authorities then searched on the ground near the intersection of County Lane and Loma Linda Lane for the driver, but did not find them.
Chopper 9's Andy Holt says it appears the driver has ditched his truck and there is now a ground search pic.twitter.com/DGj1hKXUIz
— Joe Bruno (@JoeBrunoWSOC9) May 9, 2022
Ed and Mary Liddic were one of dozens of people put in danger by the driver. They were on Stallings Road returning from a trip to pick up a sewing machine.
“Thank God. I believe he was sitting there with us. We’re both 89, so we thought this was our time,” they said.
The couple, who was almost hit, told Channel 9 that they thought the worst when they saw the truck coming right in their direction.
“As we headed back, we went to turn over the road, and this truck is headed right for us in the wrong lane, and I swear he only missed us by a foot,” Mary said. “Right after that, the police cars started coming down. I figured he was after him.”
Police said no arrests have been made at this point, and no one was hurt during the incident.
“I thought I was going to be on TV for some other reason. I didn’t think we’d be here really. I thought we were gonna get hit head-on. That’s how scared I was,” Mary said.
This is an ongoing investigation. Return to this story for updates.
(WATCH BELOW: Family inside house when driver crashes into York Co. home following chase with deputies)
©2022 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/LH3JSJEF3VBLRJLJQESEAG34AM.png)
