Husband and wife die when deputy chasing another car hits their truck, NC cops say
A married couple in their 60s died when a deputy crashed into their pickup truck, North Carolina officials told news outlets.
The Harnett County deputy reportedly was using a siren and lights as he chased a speeding driver on March 3. But as the patrol SUV came into an intersection, it hit another vehicle, pushing it toward a pole, the N.C. State Highway Patrol told WNCN and The Daily Record.
“I jumped out,” Ricky King, who said he saw the deputy’s vehicle crash into the pickup truck, told WRAL. “I cut the belts off them. I wanted them to live.”
But the pickup passenger — identified as 64-year-old Patricia Lynn Finch of East Gull Lake, Minnesota — died at the scene. The pickup’s driver, 65-year-old Brian Finch, later was pronounced dead, according to ABC11, The News & Observer’s media partner.
The two were husband and wife, WRAL reported.
The crash also seriously injured the deputy, who later was released from a hospital. A K-9 riding in the patrol car wasn’t injured, according to news outlets.
Harnett County deputies told McClatchy News over email that the deadly crash happened at about 2 p.m. along N.C. Highway 210 in the Spring Lake area. It was reported near the intersection with Ray Road, roughly 45 miles southwest of Raleigh.
“I heard sirens, and then a loud crash,” Bryan Edison, who works nearby, told WNCN. “It was barely even half a second, it was a blip of a siren and then I heard the impact.”
The driver who the deputy had been pursuing wasn’t involved in the crash and drove off, officials told The Sanford Herald and other news outlets.
”Our thoughts, prayers and deepest sympathies are with the family of Mr. and Mrs. Finch,” deputies wrote in their email. “This is an extremely tragic accident.”
The sheriff’s office said it placed the deputy on leave as it conducts an internal investigation into whether the deputy adhered to its policies.
State troopers, who reportedly also are investigating the crash, didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on March 7.
This story was originally published March 7, 2023 at 11:46 AM with the headline "Husband and wife die when deputy chasing another car hits their truck, NC cops say."
