Chapel Hill, NC - Escaped Inmate Steals UNC Police Car From Hospital - 20 Mile Chase - Speeds Over 100 MPH - Crash Into Truck

November 16, 2010

newsobserver.com

Police say a prison inmate being treated at UNC Hospitals was captured Tuesday afternoon after he stole a UNC police car and fled to Interstate 40.

The suspect was identified as Farley Linford Bernard, 46, an inmate at Pasquotank Correctional Institution in Elizabeth City, where he is serving a 25-year sentence for first-degree kidnapping, robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of stolen goods, according to the state Department of Correction.

Bernard was at UNC Hospitals for medical treatment, said Department of Correction spokesman Keith Acree.

It was not clear how Bernard may have gotten hold of a campus patrol car. Chapel Hill and campus police pursued the car east on Franklin Street and then followed as it exited onto I-40 heading west, traveling at speeds reportedly in excess of 100 mph during the approximately 20-mile chase.

Shortly after crossing into Alamance County, the suspect's car came to a halt after reportedly hitting a delivery truck. Officers took Bernard into custody.

The driver of a delivery truck, Carlos Herndon of Haw River, was not injured when he was broadsided by the cruiser, ending the chase.

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