Man killed after high-speed chase leads to deputy-involved shooting in Caldwell Co.

CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — Authorities are investigating after a lengthy police chase led to a deadly deputy-involved shooting in Caldwell County Sunday.

Officials told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty it started after a reported armed robbery. Deputies said they responded to an armed robbery on Brookshire Road in Lenoir, where the victim indicated the suspect had taken a Honda Civic at gun point.

Later, a deputy spotted the car and attempted to pull it over but it wouldn’t stop, leading deputies on a 25-mile high-speed chase into the Pisgah National Forest.

At one point, the suspect crashed into a woman’s car next to Betsey’s Old County Store near the town of Mortimer.

“He came from that away and was running about 75 mph, said Terry Palace, a camper. “It was real dangerous.”

“All I can say is, ‘I’ve never seen anything like it in the 30 years I’ve been here,” store owner Bruce Gray said.

The chase ended when the suspect ran off the road and crashed near the Roseboro community in Avery County. Eyewitnesses told Channel 9 they heard eight or nine shots being fired before the suspect lost control of the car.

Deputies approached the car after the crash, but the driver was not listening to verbal commands, according to the sheriff’s office. That’s when there was a confrontation between deputies and the suspect, and he was shot and killed.

Brooks Lee was camping with friends and was mountain biking along the road when the chase went by him shortly before the driver crashed.

“You’d never expect it be just going by in just the middle of nowhere,” Lee said. “Crazy.”

The driver was later identified as 44-year-old Kortney Price. None of the deputies were injured in the shooting.

All deputies involved in the shooting have been placed on paid-administrative leave.

The case has been turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation, who reported finding a gun inside the car during their on-scene investigation.

No other information has been released.

This is the second deputy-involved shooting in Caldwell County in the last several weeks.

On April 24, a deputy was responding to a call about a suspicious person along Miller Hill Road in Lenoir.

District attorney says SBI will investigate future CMPD officer-involved shootings District attorney says SBI will investigate future CMPD officer-involved shootings

Officials said Timothy Sides Jr. started fighting with the deputy when the deputy shot and killed him. The department said they have body cam video that shows Sides was carrying a handgun.

The deputy was not hurt and is on paid-administrative leave while the investigation continues.

This is an ongoing investigation. Check back with wsoctv.com for more information.

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