GARNER – Garner police this morning identified a moped passenger who died Sunday when he was struck by a driver fleeing a DWI checkpoint.Christopher Gonzalez-Guteinrrez, 25, of 6112 Old Wake Forest Road, Raleigh, was killed as he rode on the moped on U.S. 70 in Garner, police said. Officials postponed releasing his name until early today so they could first notify his family.

The driver of the moped, Jesus Gonzales-Orozco, also 25, was seriously injured and was being treated at WakeMed’s Raleigh Campus.

Garner Police Sgt. Joe Binns said in a news release that authorities are continuing to seek the man driving the vehicle that struck the moped.

The driver fled a checkpoint manned by Wake sheriff’s deputies at Legend Road and U.S. 401. Deputies chased the vehicle but lost sight of it.

The vehicle was heading east on U.S. 70 near Loop Road when it struck the moped. It then exited the highway at Vandora Springs Road. There, the vehicle blew through an intersection, hitting a car occupied by Jaquanna Hester and Jewia Taylor. Neither suffered major injuries, Binns said.

After the second crash, Binns said, the vehicle spun out of control, went down an embankment and stopped in a parking lot at Forest Hills Shopping Center. The man then jumped from the car and ran.

Garner police have asked that anyone with information call the department at (919) 772-4688.

SOURCE: News & Observer

Filed under: About Garner NC • CRIME/COURTS • ONLINE NEWS

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