The driver who died in a car crash after fleeing from police Thursday night in Morganton was involved in a chase in Catawba County less than a week before her death.
Tiffany Rene Traylor, 20, of Conover, was driving a dark colored vehicle on East Meeting Street near Bouchelle Street when a Morganton Department of Public Safety officer saw the car run a red light and almost hit another car, according to a release from the Morganton Department of Public Safety. The officer pulled the vehicle over and identified the driver as Traylor.
Traylor had been arrested and charged with felony flee to elude arrest from on Catawba County on Dec 4th. She had been released on a $5,000 bond . She also had unserved warrants for assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury that were issued Tuesday in Catawba County.
The active warrants prompted the officer to ask Traylor to step out of the vehicle so he could take her into custody. Traylor then rolled her window up and drove away. She was traveling at a high speed with no headlights or taillights. Officers attempted to catch up to the vehicle but lost sight of the car on East Union Street.
Police searched for the car, thinking it had turned onto a side street. An officer noticed debris in the westbound lanes on East Union Street in the curve where they originally lost sight of the vehicle. They then saw that the vehicle had gone off the road and traveled down an embankment, the release said.
Police immediately requested assistance from Burke County EMS and the Burke County Rescue Squad, the release said.
Traylor was initially transported by Burke County EMS to be airlifted to another hospital, but she died on the way to the landing zone.
The front seat passenger, Matthew Lovette, 20, of North Wilkesboro, was ejected from the vehicle. He was taken to Carolinas HealthCare System Blue-Ridge Morganton, where he was treated and released Friday. One of the rear passengers was pronounced dead at the scene, the release said. Another rear passenger was airlifted to a Johnson City, Tennessee, hospital with traumatic injuries and is listed in critical condition, the release said.
Their identities have not yet been released while police work to notify their family members.
Preliminary investigation showed that Traylor entered the sharp curve on East Union Street between Center and Tennessee streets at a high rate of speed, lost control of the vehicle, hit the concrete median, left the road, hit a tree and went about 25-feet down an embankment.
Story: THE NEWS HERALD of Morganton