AVERY COUNTY — On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Avery County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Cyle Hicks was on call in the Elk Park vicinity when he observed a vehicle with an obscured license plate. Hicks initiated a vehicle stop, and when the driver pulled over a female passenger exited the vehicle, while the driver fled heading toward Tennessee.
Hicks pursued the 2005 White Chevrolet Avalanche until his supervisor advised him to disengage before crossing the state line. Hicks was told he could continue pursuit, as Carter County Sheriff’s Office deputies were also en route. As Hicks continued to turn around, he found the vehicle, which had run off the roadway as a result of a collision which had occurred on Walnut Mountain Road. The driver fled the scene of the crash on foot…