Raleigh Officer Hurt in Foot Chase Across Beltline

Raleigh, N.C. — A Raleigh police officer remained in serious condition Wednesday morning with injuries suffered when a car struck him as he darted across the Beltline in foot pursuit of a suspect near the near Hammond Road interchange.

Officer Steven John Salina, 24, spotted William Davis Henry while Salina was on patrol about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday on the section of the Beltline where I-40 and I-440 run together, Raleigh Police spokesman Jim Sughrue said. He said Salina knew Henry was wanted for failure to appear in court on a begging charge.

Salina parked at the bottom of the ramp to Hammond Road and got out to arrest Henry when Henry ran up the ramp and across the Beltline, Sughrue said.

Salina, who had radioed that he was chasing someone, ran after the suspect when a Dodge Calibre driven by Kendall R. Smith, 17, of Raleigh struck him. She stopped and will not face any charges, Sughrue said.

Salina was taken to WakeMed.

Henry continued to flee after the crash, but he was caught a short time later, Sughrue said. In addition to the warrant for not coming to court, Henry will be charged with resisting arrest and with felonious possession of a financial transaction card, which police said they found in his possession when they arrested him.

Authorities temporarily shut down the westbound lanes of I-40 near Hammond Road. They reopened the road just before rush hour.

A wreck in the same location killed a Raleigh police officer nearly five years ago. Officer Charles Paul died in September 2002 when he lost control of his motorcycle after catching a draft from a tractor-trailer. He was chasing a speeding car at the time.

147 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 147 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

james004, i don't know where i got your name from in the last post. i apologize. the man i was referring to about being spit on is the officer. again i must of had one too many that night.we still have room for the other two waste of human flesh, missroe and ihmo.

steel1
March 9, 2007 4:17 p.m.

To Steel1,

Who's spreading poison? What man are you saying we're "spitting on"? The bum who's the cause of all of this? Sure, he does deserve to be "spit" on, he's the reason the poor police officer got hurt. Are you forgetting his very long criminal history? This guy should be locked up in prison or a mental hospital for life, sooner or later people like him will commit a crime and innocent people will suffer.

Everyone I personally know who's been a victim of some sort of crime in their life, the perpetrator was a low class, lowly educated, waste of human space. Giving these people sympathy only lets them run over you, and they know it. There's just no hope for some people, you have to come to that concensus sooner or later.

james004
March 8, 2007 11:50 a.m.

Hello again folks Steven is improving by leaps and bounds, to God be the glory. He met the young lady today who hit him. She came to see him in the hospital and bring him flowers. She and her mom were very friendly, and Steven was able to talk about the accident w/ such humor, he made her laugh. Continue to pray, he'll miss somewhere around 4 months of work; he just can't wait to get back and will continue to enforce the law, even if it is to the chagrin of the liberals! God bless you folks for praying and for your support PS: his nick name on the street is "Robo-cop." (That's a joke for all you unsuppportive folks)

Police Officer
March 4, 2007 11:06 p.m.

First off, glad to hear salina is doing better. godspeed. Second, i can't believe missroe,ihmo,and james 004 are still on here spreading their poison. People like yourselves have been pushed and picked on your entire lives, you have no heart, and you have no spines. You choose to HIDE behind a computer screen and spit on this man because it makes you feel good about yourselves. My only question is how do you look in the mirror and brush your teeth in the morning, knowing what cowards you are? All 3 of you would make great speedbumps right there near the hammond exit. For safety of course.

steel1
March 1, 2007 10:48 a.m.

Don't bring the troops into this. I have no idea if you know of anyone over there but we have a loved one over there and he fights for a country he loves and beleives in all so you have the right to your stupid opinion. This is about an officer doing HIS JOB and not about our troops. I do not agree with the war but I will never bad mouth what our troops are doing. They need our support and nothing else.