RALEIGH, N.C. (WPTF) – A Tuesday night (March 31) crash has led to a 17-year-old facing charges, but two Raleigh police officers are also being cited after a chase on New Bern Avenue.
Preliminary details indicate that officers attempted to stop a silver Infiniti sedan in the area of New Bern Avenue and North Raleigh Boulevard for a traffic violation. The Infiniti sedan refused to stop and fled the area eastbound on New Bern Avenue.
In an attempt to locate the silver Infiniti sedan, officers traveled east on Hawkins Street. The RPD vehicle ran the stop sign at the intersection of Kennedy Street and struck the Infiniti, which had just fled from the prior attempted stop. Evidence gathered at the scene indicates that the Infiniti appeared to be traveling at a high rate of speed with its headlights off when the crash occurred.
The driver and the passenger of the Infiniti are juveniles. They sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to a local hospital. The driver is still hospitalized, and the passenger has been released.
The 17-year-old juvenile driver has been charged with the following: Misdemeanor Flee to Elude, Driving While License Revoked, Fictitious Tag, Failure to Register a Motor Vehicle, Operating a Motor Vehicle without Headlights On, Operating a Motor Vehicle without Insurance and Inspection Violation
The two RPD Officers involved in this crash have been identified as First Class Officer J. Velazquez-Lopez and Officer N. Rickett. Both officers are assigned to the field operations division.
The officers were not wearing their seatbelts during the crash and sustained minor injuries. They have been treated and released from the hospital. Officer J. Velazquez-Lopez faces charges for a seatbelt violation and stop sign violation. Rickett was charged with a seatbelt violation.
Police chief Rico Boyce issued a statement: “As Chief of Police, I am aware of the recent vehicle crash involving members of my department and I am thankful no life-threatening injuries were sustained. Our priority remains the safety and well-being of our officers and everyone in our community.”
“A preliminary review of the incident indicates that departmental safety policies—specifically the required use of seatbelts were not followed. We take this matter very seriously. Our policies are in place to protect our personnel and to ensure we model the same standards of safety and accountability that we expect from the community.”
He says an internal review is underway and he went on to state that officers are held to high standards, and when those standards are not met, it will be addressed.