Car connected to pursuit by Morrisville Police found crashed in Durham, teen's body nearby

Police in Durham are investigating a deadly crash involving a connection to a carjacking and chase.

Officers were alerted to the single-vehicle crash in the 5900 block of South Miami Blvd. around 4:40 a.m. Thursday. A driver passing by the area reported the crash.

Responding officers said a body was near the vehicle. They believe it was the driver who was thrown from the SUV during the crash.

On Thursday afternoon, DPD said the person killed had been identified as a 16-year-old boy from Raleigh.

The Durham Police Department said its preliminary investigation revealed the driver was the only person inside. DPD also determined that the vehicle was connected to an early morning carjacking in Morrisville. Officers in Morrisville spotted the vehicle on Chapel Hill Road headed toward Durham and pursued it, but called off the chase after losing sight of the vehicle near Chapel Hill Road and Page Road.

Investigators said they had not determined whether the teen was one of the carjackers, only that he was inside the 2016 BMW SUV reported stolen from Morrisville.

"At this point, it's really difficult for us to know who was in the car when it was, when the officers were pursuing was in the middle of the investigation," said Morrisville Police Chief Pete Acosta. "Now, so a lot of those answers are yet to come."

In Morrisville, police remained on scene at the apartment complex in the 1100 block of W. Shore Court where four armed suspects assaulted the vehicle owner and took off with the BMW just before 2:30 a.m.

Acosta said they didn't have descriptions or ages of the suspects, who were all wearing masks.

"Victim was in the parking lot and the suspects came up to his car, uh, pulled him out of the car," Acosta said. "They hit him with the gun and stole his car. It was just within minutes of the call coming out that one of our officers actually saw the stolen car at a gas station where he turned around on them. And then as he attempted a traffic stop, the suspects fled."

The carjacking victim suffered minor injuries and was expected to be OK.

"Unfortunately right now, we don't have a lot of answers," Acosta said.

A resident of those apartments who didn't want to be identified said there had been some suspicious activity in the area.

"I know there's been people coming into the complex, and I know cars have been broken into. In fact, I put a bar on my steering wheel because I've got a brand new car here, and they steal those. So I know there's been some activity in here, she said.

South Miami Boulevard between Emperor Boulevard and Surles Court was closed during the investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Capt. Brad Shirley of the Morrisville Police Department at bshirley@morrisvillenc.gov or (919) 416-1637.

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