By Nathan Hardin
nhardin@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — A Cleveland Police car collided with a Rowan County emergency vehicle Sunday afternoon on Statesville Boulevard while in pursuit of a Florida fugitive.
Cleveland Police Chief David Allen said Monday that officer Joshua Eller was chasing a suspect on Statesville Boulevard when he lost control and hit a Rowan County emergency services fire division vehicle.
Allen said Eller was the only officer from Cleveland Police to join the pursuit. Iredell and Rowan County deputies were also engaged in the chase, Allen said.
Notifications to local law enforcement agencies described the suspect as “armed and dangerous.”
Deputies from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday afternoon.
Allen refused to comment on how fast Eller was going at the time of the crash, but did say weather was a factor.
“It was right at the time when the ice started forming on the road,” he said.
Allen said Eller joined the chase “less than three or four minutes” before the wreck.
The 10-year veteran was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center.
Robin Baltimore, spokeswoman for the hospital, said Eller was listed in good condition Monday afternoon.
Fire investigators Deborah Horne and Kevin Dennis were in their vehicles at the scene of a fire at Rowan Animal Clinic on Statesville Boulevard.
Investigators were following up on a fire that killed nine animals and gutted the building Sunday morning.
“They had just arrived back at the incident site and were in the vehicle and they were sitting stationary at the parking lot when their vehicles were struck by the Cleveland Police vehicle,” said Frank Thomason, director of Rowan County Emergency Management Services.
Thomason said an emergency services fire division vehicle and a privately owned vehicle were both damaged in the collision.
Sgt. E.T. Suttles of the North Carolina Highway Patrol said troopers are continuing to investigate the crash, but refused to provide any details about the collision.
“Anytime we do an investigation involving another agency, we don’t put words in their mouth,” he said.
Chief Allen said the fugitive was not caught in the chase.
According to reports from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, deputies recovered a stolen vehicle from Florida at 170 Bradley Drive later Sunday evening.
The owner of the property contacted authorities after he found the vehicle in the driveway of his rental property.
According to reports, the vehicle had a Florida tag but was registered to a Harmony, N.C., address.
The vehicle was filled with clothes and the driver had “appeared to be living in the vehicle,” the report said.
Contact reporter Nathan Hardin at 704-797-4246.
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