SALISBURY — A police chase on Sunday morning ended in Mecklenburg County when the deputy was unable to maintain vision on the fleeing vehicle. Deputies were then unable to locate the suspect at the address the vehicle was registered to.

The incident began at approximately 1:50 a.m., when a deputy noticed a gold, four-door sedan speeding on the southbound side of Interstate 85, according to a spokesperson for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. The deputy reportedly clocked the sedan as driving 93 mph near the Peach Orchard Road exit.

The deputy caught up to the sedan around the Webb Road exit and turned on his lights in an attempt to stop the sedan, at which point it sped up, the spokesperson said. The deputy reportedly pursued the sedan into Cabarrus County, at which point the vehicle allegedly changed lanes multiple times and the driver turned the headlights off. 

When they approached the Concord Mills Boulevard exit, the sedan moved into the exit lane before making a “sudden and violent” lane change and returning to the left-most lane, according to the spokesperson.

Eventually, the sedan reportedly exited onto East W.T. Harris Boulevard. At that point, the deputy called off the pursuit due to losing sight of the car, the spokesperson said. The deputy reportedly was not able to maintain a visual of the sedan because the headlights were off and the street did not have any lights.

Deputies were reportedly able to trace the vehicle to an owner, who was registered as living in Buncombe County. Deputies with the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office went to the home and spoke with the man, who said he had sold the car in January but that he could not remember the name of the man he sold it to, according to the spokesperson. The man was able to provide deputies with the Facebook page of the person.