High-speed chase ends with crash near Senior Center

A high-speed chase Tuesday morning in the town of Franklin ends with a crash and a suspect in custody.

According to Franklin Police Chief David Adams, local officers were notified of Ford Taurus with a Michigan license plate traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph from Mountain City, Ga. to North Carolina.

Just before 10 a.m. the Taurus was spotted by a Franklin Police Officer.

“Sergeant Beegle noticed the vehicle near McDonald’s on 441 and she starting pursuing the vehicle. The vehicle crashed near the Lutheran Church on 441, went through the parking lot and into the parking lot of the Senior Center crashing into five vehicles,” Adams said.

The driver, 26-year-old Derek Lee Tuncap, of Michigan, apparently struck another vehicle near Womack Street as he fled toward town.

Adams says no one was hurt, which was astounding given the time of day and location of the accident.

Police have taken Tuncap into custody. He is facing several charges including felony hit and run and speed to elude.

The Macon County Sheriff’s Office and North Carolina Highway Patrol assisted police in the incident.