By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
A Rowan County Sheriff’s Deputy was seriously injured in a weekend wreck after attempting to pursue a vehicle.
Sometime around 11 p.m. Saturday 911 communications indicated a breaking and entering was in progress near the Millbridge Road area.
Patrol Deputy Janet Wietbrock, 39, was traveling east on N.C. 150 when she noticed a car matching the description of the supposed suspect.
Sheriff George Wilhelm said Monday, the deputy notified 911 dispatchers she was turning around.
“It was raining and the road was wet,” he said.
Wilhelm said Wietbrock ran off the road, hit a tree and culvert.
“She flipped over several times. She was pinned in,” he said.
A N.C. Highway Patrol report specifically states, Wietbrock lost control of her patrol car, ran off the leftside of the road, struck a ditch and then a ditch culvert.
The vehicle overturned onto its top and continued to slide east through the yard of a home at 6902 N.C. 150.
The report continues saying the authorized speed limit was 55 mph. However, Wietbrock’s estimated traveling speed was 75 mph and at the point of impact her speed was 70 mph.
The patrol car slid about 110 feet after impact. It came to rest still on its top and facing west off the eastbound shoulder, the report said.
Highway Patrol Trooper J.L. Deal investigated the scene.
Wilhelm said the car she was pursuing was not the suspect’s car officials were looking for, but the occupants of that vehicle helped Wietbrock.
The call turned out to be a domestic situation, he said.
Wietbrock was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center and later taken to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Officials at the Winston-Salem hospital said Monday afternoon Wietbrock is in good condition.
Wilhelm said he spoke with Wietbrock Sunday.
“She had severe lacerations to her head and wrist and some bruising,” he said.
The deputy was scheduled for a Monday surgery to repair tendons in her wrist that were cut by glass, however that has been postponed until Tuesday, Wilhelm said.
She was driving a department issued Ford Crown Victoria, which the sheriff said is totaled.
Wietbrock has been with the sheriff’s office since 2004.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.