Court Rules on Murder and Police Chases

RALEIGH — High-speed police chases are dangerous affairs, involving substantial risk to the lives of those fleeing, pursuing police officers, and innocent bystanders unlucky enough to be in the area. In a case decided Dec. 7, a panel of judges on the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that a fleeing driver can be put on trial for second-degree murder if a pursuing officer dies in a crash during a chase. The case is the first time a North Carolina appellate court has considered the propriety of a murder charge in an accident involving a sober driver.