Arrest in river ends long chase
By Staff and Wire
Published in News on July 6, 2004 1:58 PM
A high-speed chase that came through Wayne County ended Monday in the Tar River near Rocky Mount.
Highway Patrol troopers pulled a Dare County man from the Tar River, then charged him, following a multi-county chase that began Monday when authorities spotted a car that had been reported stolen in Virginia.
Timothy William Keyser, 40, of Avon was charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, speeding to elude arrest, reckless driving, speeding 110 mph in a 55 mph zone and driving without a license, said Highway Patrol spokesman 1st Sgt. Everett Clendenin.
Troopers later learned Keyser was a suspect in Virginia Beach, Va., in the armed carjacking of the 2004 Jeep Cherokee he was operating, Clendenin said. Virginia Beach authorities were traveling Monday night to Johnston County, where Keyser was being held, to pick him up.
The chase started about 9:15 a.m. when Trooper J.B. Gordon saw a vehicle on Interstate 95 in Johnston County that was reported stolen from Virginia Beach. The driver fled the trooper and started a chase that wound through Wayne, Johnston, Wilson, Nash and Edgecombe counties.
In Wayne County, authorities placed out "stop sticks," which puncture tires, to try to stop him. He eventually headed back into Johnston County.
While traveling on N.C. Route 97 in Rocky Mount, the Jeep ran off the road, and the suspect jumped from the car, stripped to his underwear and waded into the Tar River. Officers in uniform waded in after the man and apprehended him.