Raleigh police say a man was impaired when he stole a car and led them on a 10-minute chase through the southeast part of town Friday afternoon.
Police were responding to calls of an armed carjacking in the 2600 block of Appliance Court and looking for a stolen Acura SUV. They spotted the car at the intersection of Sunnybrook Road and Holston Lane and pursued the driver to Poole Road and Donald Ross Drive.
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The chase ended just before 5 p.m. with lanes at least one other car damaged and lanes blocked through the evening rush hour.
Christopher Payton, 29, was charged with unauthorized use of motor vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia, fleeing to elude, speeding, reckless driving, hit and run and driving while impaired.
Over the scene, Sky 5 showed two people being taken into police custody, but on Saturday morning, police said no one else had been charged. The investigation was continuing.
Anyone with information that might assist the investigation is asked to visit Raleigh Crimestoppers at www.p3tips.com/89 for anonymous reporting options or call 919-996-1193.
Josue Fajardo, who lives on the corner of where the crash happened, said he is surprised by the severity of the situation.
"When I saw it was a real car crash and saw the amount of cops, I was like 'oh, this is not a car crash, they are chasing after this guy,'" Fajardo said.
Good Friday services took place at St. Joseph Catholic Church, which was also nearby the crime scene, as police investigated.
Dominic Mack, who was attending services at the time, said the large police presence briefly disrupted service.
"We were all really concerned; we stopped for about five minutes," Mack shared. "Some [other attendees] came back and said we were alright and we went back to our service."