SMITHFIELD – A driver eluded arrest after leading Johnston County deputies on a high speed chase.
Monday night, a deputy sheriff attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle in Benson. The driver refused to pull over.
The suspect ended up on Interstate 95 where other officers were able to deploy stop sticks near Smithfield and flatten a tire on the pickup.
The driver exited off I-95 at US 70 in Smithfield (Exit 95), drove off the ramp and down an embankment near a local hotel before jumping from his pickup truck and fleeing into the dark woods near a construction area.
Two K-9 teams searched for the suspect for at least an hour, between I-95 and the Johnston County Board of Education building, before calling off the search. He was not found.
Authorities said a gun and drug paraphernalia were found in the abandoned truck.
Once located, the driver will face numerous charges.
