DURHAM, N.C. — A man in Durham County snatched a woman’s purse, grabbed an elderly lady and tossed her from her truck, which he then stole, and then sped off from deputies causing three wrecks on Saturday afternoon, officials say.
A child who was in a car that was hit during one of the crashes was taken to a nearby hospital for observation.
The incident was first reported just before 3 p.m. as an armed robbery in progress at the Wilco Hess located at 1400 South Miami Blvd., the Durham County Sheriff’s Office said.
When deputies arrived, the suspect was in the parking lot of the Hess where he stole a woman’s purse, Tamara Gibbs, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office, said in a press release.
The man then fled on foot to JJ’s Fish & Chicken Restaurant at 1403 South Miami Blvd. where he saw an 82-year-old woman inside a truck, Gibbs said.
The suspect “pulled the woman from her truck and pushed her to the ground before driving off at a high rate of speed on U.S. 70,” deputies said in a press release.
The suspect’s attempt to elude authorities resulted in three vehicle collisions.
The first wreck happened at East End Avenue followed by a second crash at North Miami at Liberty Street.
The suspect caused the last crash in the parking lot of the Wellington Village Shopping Center where he abandoned the stolen truck and tried to run away on foot, according to deputies.
“Deputies briefly pursued him on foot and later apprehended the suspect without incident,” deputies said.
Willie Mortez Daniel, 46, of Oxford is at the Durham County Detention Facility where authorities will charge him with attempted robbery, armed robbery of a person, assault, larceny of a vehicle, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and resist, delay and obstruct.
There were no serious injuries in the wrecks, but a child inside a parked vehicle that the suspect hit in the parking lot at Wellington Village was taken to the hospital for observation, Gibbs said. The child is reported to be in good condition.
