Troopers say deputy failed to yield when he ran the stop light
By Emily Weaver
Dunn Daily Record
HARNETT COUNTY – Harnett County Deputy Kevin Letarte was trying to stop a speeding car on N.C. Highway 210 March 3 when he “failed to yield” and crashed into innocent travelers at 77 mph, according to a N.C. State Highway Patrol wreck report.
The travelers were killed, the speeder got away and Letarte was put on administrative leave, pending the outcome of the wreck’s investigation.
Trooper Sgt. David Hawkins estimates Letarte was initially driving 95 mph to catch the speeding car before he entered the highway’s intersection with Ray Road where he slammed into Brian and Patricia Finch, of East Gull Lake, Minnesota.
The posted speed limit on that stretch of highway is 45 mph, but Hawkins said Letarte had his blue lights and siren activated when he sped up to catch the car.
Letarte and the speeder were approaching a red light when the Finches’ signal turned green. The Finches were crossing the intersection in their 2015 Ram truck, under the direction of that green light, when the speeder sped through.
Hawkins noted Letarte’s patrol car entered the intersection and failed to yield to the Finches, striking their truck at an estimated 77 mph on its passenger side.
Patricia Finch, the 64-year-old passenger in the truck, died at the scene. Her 65-year-old husband, Brian, was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officers are allowed to speed and run through stop lights in pursuit of a suspected criminal, “but only after slowing down as may be necessary for safe operation,” according to a Harnett County Sheriff’s Office pursuit policy. Deputies are required to conduct any chase carefully and without endangering the lives of others in the area.
“Deputies and supervisors must objectively and continuously weigh the seriousness of the offense against the potential danger to innocent motorists, themselves, and the public when electing to continue a pursuit,” the policy manual states.
Letarte was a 36-year-old K9 handler and a five-year veteran with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the wreck. He was transported to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries and released.
Killed 2 people and gor administrative leaved (aka a paid vacation). Gotta love qualified immunity!
This investigation was just released, give it time for charges to be filed.
@Jen: Qualified Immunity ensures that justice will not be served.
That’s a rather jaded view. The officer will be burdened with the death of two citizens for the rest of his life. The family members of both the trooper and the victims will be affected. Pray that the speeder is apprehended before more deaths occur.
@jeff: That’s highly doubtful. FBI and DOJ statistics shoe that of the 32 officers who killed innocent bystanders during high-speed chases over the last 10 years, 26 were back on the job within 6 months and the remaining 7 within 2 years. And 3 of them went on to kill again. Explain to me how they’re “burdened?” #EqualJusticeForAll
Look out Harnett County taxpayers, this one’s gonna be on you.
That is so sad for everyone involved – except the speeder who started the entire pursuit. That person got away without any repercussions. Breaking the law-multiple offenses listed in this article, yet they suffered nothing today. Two innocent people lost their lives and the deputy has to live with the consequences of his split second decision. Just awful!
It’s obvious the Harnett County sheriff office need to reevaluate their pursuit policy. In my opinion, Chases should not be allowed for non-violent crimes, impaired driving or if the driver is identified and can be arrested at a later date. Forcible stops should be allowed in “extraordinary circumstances by setting up road blocks or deploying spike strips. If they had these procedures in place the couple would be alive today. It’s a shame innocent citizens have to die this way. Prayers to all families!
Absolutely agree.
Charge and convict him
NCGS 20-156b Regarding right-of-way at intersections for emergency vehicles, “This provision shall not operate to relieve the driver of a police or fire department vehicle … from the duty to drive with due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway, nor shall it protect the driver of any such vehicle or county fire marshal or civil preparedness coordinator from the consequence of any arbitrary exercise of such right-of-way.” Regardless of the nature of the pursuit, the officer still must maintain “due regard for the safety of all persons using the highway”. This officer did not do that.
2 dead as a result of officer’s high speed pursuit of a speeder…terrible.
You need to consider the fact that the driver that got away could have killed the people and not the Trooper. He was just doing his job and the outcome is so sad to say the least but remember, the person that was being chased has no nothing to deal with. They kept on going. They certainly do not have a conscious. We need to pray for all involved including the families except for the person running. May the flees of a thousand Camels infest and eat up there body..
The driver could have had a medical emergency. He could have been racing to poop. He could have been smoking marijuana. He could have not realized he was going in excess of the posted speed limit. Regardless, he didn’t hit and kill anyone. So stop With the could have garbage. Speeding is a misdemeanor. That’s it. A freaking misdemeanor. People died over a deputy wanting to scratch someone a citation. SMH. Do you not see the irony? He was allegedly speeding and yet the defense of an LEO was that he can SPEED 32mph over the posted speed limit to catch a so called dangerous speeder is mind boggling. Who was the real threat here? Clearly not the alleged speeder.
Just to clarify this was a Deputy with the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office that was involved in the collision not a Trooper. The NCSHP is the agency investigating the crash. Praying for everyone involved in this extremely sad incident!
So much coulda been comments. The irony is sitting in that a deputy finds it appropriate to speed in an excessive manner and endanger others while claiming the alleged speeder is the real danger. If you say so…..
Pursuits happen time and time again over misdemeanors. Make it make sense.
These two people died bc this deputy was negligent and reckless. Period. I have spent almost 3 decades wearing a badge. There is a reason why many agencies ban them. The data is clear in the risk to the public. His training and experience should have told him this was foolish and ignorant. The deputy should be terminated and charged. Whether he intended to or not, he is in fact a murderer. And the alleged suspect didn’t hit them, he did. Whataboutism needs to stop in this thread and in general. He was wrong. Period.