Sheriff's Office: Moving Truck Hit and Run in Hillsborough Ends With Dramatic Chase, Stop in Greensboro

A Virginia man faces several charges in North Carolina after an extensive vehicle pursuit that began with a hit-and-run case in Orange County.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office shared a release on Monday afternoon detailing the incident from Sunday night. Law enforcement officials were dispatched at 10:20 p.m. to help the Hillsborough Police Department with a reported hit and run case with a U-Haul moving truck. The sheriff’s deputies caught up to the suspect vehicle on Interstate 40 near Exit 261 in Hillsborough, but the driver did not pull over. A trooper with the North Carolina state Highway Patrol joined the pursuit as the moving truck headed west on the interstate.

When it reached Alamance County, the local sheriff’s office deployed stop sticks to slow the U-Haul truck down, which successfully punctured the front passenger tire of the vehicle. But the driver and truck did not stop and “continued to drive erratically with his hazard lights on,” with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office release saying at one point the driver appeared to purposefully sideswipe a pursuing state trooper.

Eventually, the chase came to an end in Guilford County where — after several rounds of stop sticks were used by law enforcement — the driver’s side front and rear tires came off the U-Haul. The highway pursuit lasted roughly 50 miles, with the driver being arrested once the vehicle came to a stop near Highway 29 and Guilford College Road on the west side of Greensboro.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said deputies immediately took 58-year-old Timothy Leroy Durham into custody, charging him with felony flee to elude, driving while impaired, and multiple other traffic offenses. He also faces simple possession of a schedule VI drug, after a canine alert and search of the vehicle led to law enforcement finding marijuana cigarettes and 3.5 grams on Durham. Deputies also reportedly found a hatchet, a black mask, a camo mask, pliers, gloves, and 17 rounds of rifle ammunition in the moving truck.

Sheriff’s deputies transported Durham to Orange County where he remained in the detention center overnight and received a $50,000 secure bond from the local magistrate. According to Monday’s release, the Hillsborough Police Department may seek charges for the hit and run within its jurisdiction, while the North Carolina State Highway Patrol may bring additional charges for Durham’s driving and alleged attempt to crash into a state trooper. Durham made his first court appearance on the Orange County charges Monday afternoon.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Sheriff’s Office: Moving Truck Hit and Run in Hillsborough Ends With Dramatic Chase, Stop in Greensboro

On Air Now: 97.9 FM