A man from Elon faces nine charges ranging from felony assault to traffic violations after he allegedly led law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase through two counties that reached speeds in excess of 100 miles an hour.
According to the office of Alamance County’s sheriff, Tyler Manuel Lopez initially drew the attention of sheriff’s deputies at about 3:00 a.m. on Thursday as he tore through Burlington at a high rate of speed in a silver Dodge Ram pickup.
Two deputies ultimately tried to intercept the 26-year-old white male as he blazed through the intersection of NC 87 and University Drive. In the meantime, they were joined by members of Elon University’s campus police force, who had made an unsuccessful attempt to pull over the pickup along Haggard Avenue.
According to the sheriff’s office, one deputy tried to force Lopez to a stop by giving his pickup a controlled tap from the side. This maneuver nevertheless failed to faze the driver, who reportedly rammed a sheriff’s patrol car on his way into Guilford County.
As the pursuit passed the Guilford-Alamance line, the two deputies broke off the chase once the paved roadway gave way to gravel. According to the sheriff’s office, both patrol cars had sustained damage by the time that the deputies gave up the chase.
Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office continued to gather information about the elusive vehicle even after the driver’s apparent escape. This investigation soon got a boost when Elon’s campus police revealed that its officers had made another attempt to stop the same vehicle earlier that week. This breakthrough led deputies to Lopez’s home at 410 James Toney Drive in Elon, where they were finally able to take the suspect into custody.
Due to his alleged daredevil antics, Lopez has been charged with two felony counts of speeding to elude arrest along with a third felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official. Lopez is also accused of failing to heed an officer’s blue light and siren, speeding 110 miles an hour in a 55-mile-an-hour zone, reckless driving to endanger persons and property, misdemeanor injury to personal property, failing to stop at a red light, and driving with a revoked license.
Lopez has been placed under a $50,000 bond since his arrest.
