Huntersville teens killed after police chase ends in Rowan County crash: NCHP

MOUNT ULLA, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two teens, chased by Mooresville Police for speeding and suspected drunk driving, died when they crashed their pick-up truck during the pursuit.

The accident happened at 10:52 p.m. on Thursday, June 8, near Back Creek Church Road.

Austin Ryan Davis, 18, and Aiden Daniel Humphries, 16, of Huntersville, were identified as the deceased victims, N.C. Highway Patrol confirmed.

Police tell Queen City News the chase reached speeds as high as 110 miles an hour and went from the city limits of Mooresville in Iredell County into another county, Rowan, and was about six miles total.

Most of the chase was on Highway 801, a rural, narrow road.

Friends and family are now living with loss.

“It’s a tough decision to have to make,” said Walter Bowers, an attorney and former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer.

Bowers has had to make that call in the past: to chase or not to chase.

“It is often tough to ‘Monday-morning quarterback’ because you weren’t there,” said Bowers.

Mooresville Police say the teens were inside city limits when they clocked them on Oakridge Farm Highway going 75 in a 45-mile-per-hour zone.

Officers tried to pull over the pick-up truck but say the teens didn’t stop, and that’s how the chase began around 10:30 p.m.

“Some people may see it as, ‘Hey, they were just speeding,’” Bowers explained. “Others may see it and say, ‘These guys were going at a speed that was dangerous to other people that were on the road.'”

Police say speeding wasn’t the only danger, as they suspect the driver was drunk.

According to a spokesperson for the Mooresville Police Department, dash cam video shows the teens tossing alcohol cans out of the pick-up during the chase, and police say they found cans on scene that matched those along the highway.

Troopers say the driver, identified as Davis, ran the truck off the road, flipped, and hit a utility pole while police chased him.

Three main powerlines had come down during the crash. Authorities said firefighters couldn’t approach the vehicle until Duke Energy crews arrived to cut the power off.

Both Davis and Humphries were pronounced dead on the scene by EMS.

“An officer has to look at it and say, ‘Even though I can, should I in this particular case?’ Because what happens, you know, at the end of the day, it’s on you,” Bowers said.

Mooresville Police say no officers are on administrative duty related to the incident and must QCN file a Freedom of Information request to get their pursuit policy.

The crash scene was cleared at 2:30 a.m. Friday. N.C. Highway Patrol continues to investigate and has requested assistance from ALE.