Three men called suspects in three-county high-speed chase

A deputy patrolling along Triple Oak Drive in Morrisville saw a person who appeared to be urinating beside a 1999 Jeep Cherokee around 7:40 a.m., said Phyllis Stephens, a spokeswoman for the sheriff's office.

When the deputy approached, the man jumped back in the Jeep and drove away, and the deputy gave pursuit, Stephens said. Raleigh and Clayton police, Johnston County sheriff's deputies and state troopers assisted in the pursuit.

The chase went into Durham County, back into Wake County and then into Johnston County, Stephens said. Agents said they saw the Jeep's occupants throwing out items along Interstate 540.

The pursuit ended when the Jeep crashed at Main and Central streets in downtown Clayton at 8:09 a.m., Stephens said.

One man in the Jeep was injured and taken to Johnston Memorial Hospital in Smithfield. Deputies plan to charge him when he is released.

Officers arrested the two other occupants of the Jeep and charged them each with resisting, delaying and obstructing a law enforcement officer. They were being held in the Wake County Jail early Saturday afternoon.

The sheriff's office has been unable to confirm the identity of the suspects, Stephens said. The men in jail did not have any identification on them, and the injured man carried three identifications, she said.