CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Driver helps stop police chase in Caldwell County
A Caldwell County man told Channel 9 he saw deputies chasing someone and braked so the driver could hit him -- and it was all caught on camera.
Reporter Dave Faherty spoke with the man, Kody Forte, who said he was heading to work in his Ford F-350 extended cab when he spotted the chase along Orchard Drive, south of Lenoir.
Deputies said at around 3 p.m. Thursday, they tried to pull a driver over but he refused to stop, leading to a chase. The driver was identified as 45-year-old Jeremy Greene.
Forte said the suspect struck the side of his pickup truck and, with all the traffic, said he tried to keep the driver from getting away by hitting his brakes. Forte said he was concerned because children were being dismissed from school at around the same time as the pursuit.
“Trying to do something, because I knew it was about time for kids to get out of school and everything,” he said. “I didn’t want somebody like that to be running around on the roads.”
Cellphone video shows the driver striking Forte’s truck, and you can see all the deputies involved in the chase. Forte said he tried to help deputies after the truck slammed into him.
His truck was badly damaged in the crash.
Johanna Cornell was a passenger in a car heading in the opposite direction when she took cellphone video of Kody getting struck.
“Kody in the truck came by and all of the sudden you could see this black SUV/car just hit him, rear end him as hard as it can and in the video I said, ‘Oh my God,’” she said.
During the chase, deputies deployed “Stop Sticks”, flattening Greene’s tires. The chase eventually ended when his car came to a stop on Connelly Springs Road near Orchard Drive.
According to deputies, they found more than a pound of the drug inside his car, along with cash and a handgun. The drugs seized had a total street value of $92,400, according to North Carolina state drug guidelines.
ALSO READ: Police: High-speed chase out of SC ends with rollover crash in Cleveland County
Greene was charged with multiple counts of trafficking methamphetamine. He was also served outstanding arrest warrants from Burke County for fleeing to elude arrest, reckless driving to endanger, driving while license revoked, failure to stop for blue light and siren, speeding, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and parole violation.
“This was a substantial arrest of a repeat offender and a lot of methamphetamine that won’t be hitting the streets of Caldwell County,” said Sheriff Alan Jones.
Greene is being held at the Caldwell Detention Center with a bail set at $405,000. His first appearance is set for April 18.
Troopers are also investigating Greene for hitting a truck during the chase. He could face additional charges.
Forte said he has already tried to fix some of the damage to the truck which has more than 300,000 miles on it.
“I wasn’t trying to cause like too big of a scene. I didn’t want to do more damage than good. Tried to get him to hit my bumper a couple of times to disable the vehicle,” Forte said.
(WATCH BELOW: Chase out of York County ends with crash, overturned truck in Cleveland County)
