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Domestic Dispute Leads to Fatal Wreck

An apparent domestic-violence incident led to a police chase and a fatal wreck in Oxford Thursday evening, police said.

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OXFORD — An apparent domestic-violence incident led to a police chase and a fatal wreck in Oxford Thursday evening, police said.

Martin Martinez, 35, ran over a woman with his Jeep at about 5:15 p.m. Thursday on Old Mill Road, police said. Oxford Police Chief John Wolford witnessed the incident and ran over to the Jeep to order Martinez to stop, police said.

When Martinez tried to run over the woman again, Wolford fired several shots at the vehicle, which then veered off and rammed a van twice before driving away, police said. A Granville County Sheriff's Department deputy pursued the Jeep until it ran into a utility pole on northbound N.C. Highway 15, police said.

Martinez was taken to Granville Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

The woman, Angel Martinez of Oxford, was taken to Duke University Hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.

A man who also was struck by the Jeep, William Voyles of Henderson, was treated at Granville Medical Center and released.

Wolford has been placed on administrative leave while the Oxford Police Department and the State Bureau of Investigation review his actions in the incident.

Police said the dispute was domestic in nature, but the case remains under investigation.

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