ST. PAULS — Southbound Interstate 95 near St. Pauls reopened Thursday afternoon following a cross-county chase that ended with the driver wrecking.
The wreck occurred around 1:35 p.m., according to the Department of Transportation, forcing lane closures that were in effect for nearly two hours.
According to Dunn police Lt. Dallas Autry, the high-speed chase began just before 1 p.m. on I-95 in Dunn city limits when a police officer attempted to pull a vehicle over for a traffic violation. The driver did not stop, leading law enforcement on a more than 40-mile pursuit reaching speeds of 120 mph, Autry said.
“He was passing people on the left and right using the rumble strips,” Autry said.
Autry said a Highway Patrol trooper used a PIT maneuver to force the driver off the road near mile marker 28, bumping the back left corner of the vehicle in order to make it turn.
Kenya Williams, 34, of Washington, D.C., was charged with driving without a license, speeding, reckless driving and speeding to elude arrest. Williams had a firearm in the vehicle and was charged by Dunn police with possessing a firearm as a felon, Autry said.
Williams was taken to a hospital for evaluation before being jailed in Harnett County.
