High-Speed Police Chase Ends In Fatal Crash

At 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Fayetteville police officer Randy Sessoms stopped a truck on Grove Street because it had fictitious license tags.

"He (Sessoms) approached the driver and asked for his driver's license and registration. The driver could not produce any," says Sgt. James Todd of the Fayetteville Police Department. "Officer Sessoms went back to his vehicle to issue him a traffic citation, and at that time the suspect had fled."

Witnesses say Raymond Miracle Jr., 34, drove down side streets and intersections at speeds up to 60 miles per hour.

The chase ended at the intersection of Black and Decker Road and Highway 301 when the suspect ran into a truck driven by Edward Toy. Miracle died at the scene.

Toy, whose truck was totaled, says the high-speed chase was the right thing for police to do.

Police say there were several suspicious items in Miracle's truck.

"He obviously had a guilty conscience for something else," says interim police chief Phillip Cannady. "Our intent is to find out what that was."

The incident will be investigated internally to determine whether the high-speed chase was justified.