On Friday, May 11, the Columbus Police Department and North Carolina Highway Patrol conducted a motor vehicle law checking station at the on-ramp to I-26 west in Columbus. During the checking station, Stephen Harold Curtsinger, 51, of Weaverville, N.C. was asked to pull to the shoulder for a check of his license status as he said he did not have his license with him. The check revealed that Curtsinger, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal history, had 12 outstanding felony warrants and other misdemeanor warrants for his arrest, as well as a nationwide extradition probation violation warrant. Before officers could approach Curtsinger again, he fled west on I-26.
The vehicle pursuit went into Henderson County on I-26, with the N.C. Highway Patrol as the primary pursuing agency, onto Chimney Rock Rd. (U.S. Highway 64) and back onto I-26 east before Curtsinger was involved in a two-vehicle collision near the Upward Road exit. Curtsinger and the occupant of the other vehicle were transported to Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville with minor injuries.
Curtsinger was arrested and is currently in the Henderson County Detention Center. After posting bond or being sentenced, Curtsinger will be returned to Polk County to face numerous charges related to the incident. The North Carolina Highway Patrol investigated the collision.
– article submitted by the Columbus Police Department