Warrant: Facebook posts show driver in fatal Cary crash had 'propensity of erratic driving'

The Wake County Sheriff's Office obtained a warrant to search Cox's Facebook account for evidence before anything was deleted, noting in the warrant application that Cox is likely to be charged in Durso's death.

According to the warrant application, a Wake County deputy saw two vehicles racing on U.S. 1, but one then exited at Cary Parkway. A Volkswagen GTI continued speeding south along the highway at more than 100 mph, weaving in and out of traffic and using the shoulder to pass vehicles.

The deputy turned on his blue lights and siren to pursue the GTI and stop it "in the interest of public safety," the warrant application states, but the driver "looked back at the deputy, made eye contact with the deputy and accelerated."

Off-duty deputy defends decision to pursue speeding car before fatal crash on U.S. 1

“He hit the gas again hard and zipped between about two or three cars, and then I thought, 'I’ve got to stop this guy. He’s going to hurt somebody,'” Maj. Jimmy Byrd, who was off duty and heading home at the time, said the day after the crash.

Byrd said it was a matter of seconds between his decision to end the pursuit and the crash.

The GTI was driving on the shoulder when the pavement ended, and it went airborne over a grassy area and slammed into Durso's Volkswagen Jetta that was merging onto southbound U.S. 1 from Tryon Road, according to the warrant application.

Durso suffered a brain hemorrhage, a fractured vertebra in his neck, several broken ribs and a punctured lung, according to an autopsy. He died of "multiple blunt force injuries to the head and neck," the warrant application states.

Cox has numerous speeding and driving infractions on his record, and he wasn't shy about bragging on it, according to the warrant application.

Posts to his Facebook account "purportedly show his vehicle operating grossly in excess of the speed limit, and still other posts refer to incidents involving road rage he appears to have been involved in," the warrant application states.

"Taken in totality, the public posts made on Mr. Cox's account show a history and propensity of erratic driving and complete and utter disregard for the lives of other motorist[s]," the application states.