By Steve Huffman
Staff report
A trooper from the N.C. Highway Patrol was injured in a single-vehicle accident Friday afternoon.
Sgt. Mark Gravitte, 44, of Salisbury, is part of the Highway Patrol’s Motor Carrier Enforcement division. He was airlifted from the site of the accident in the 500 block of St. Paul’s Church Road.
He was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.
The trooper who investigated the accident said he expected Gravitte to be released this morning. But a hospital spokeswoman said Gravitte remained in serious condition about midnight Friday.
According to Sgt. J.M. Ward of the Highway Patrol, Gravitte was traveling west at a high rate of speed on St. Paul’s Church Road when he ran off the left side of the road. The accident happened about 3 p.m.
Gravitte’s 2004 Ford Crown Victoria went through a field and struck a ditch before becoming airborne. The car spun around, its rear end slamming into a tree.
The call for help initially went out as an entrapment, though rescue workers were able to open the car’s door when they arrived.
Ward said there is some confusion as to what Gravitte was doing just before the accident.
Ward said it’s believed that Gravitte was attempting to overtake a speeding car when he lost control of his vehicle.
But Ward said witnesses said they didn’t see a car fleeing from Gravitte.
“He must have turned on another road,” Ward said of the vehicle that Gravitte was apparently pursuing.
Ward said it was also unclear how long Gravitte had been chasing another car. He hadn’t radioed in that he was involved in a chase, Ward said, and his patrol car is not equipped with a dash camera.
Ward said it’s not unusual for a trooper to delay radioing in information about a chase until he’s close enough to get a detailed description of the vehicle he’s pursuing.
Ward said Gravitte was being treated in the hospital’s emergency room Friday night and he hadn’t had the opportunity to speak to him about the accident. He said it would probably be this morning before Gravitte was questioned.
“We just assume he was trying to overtake another vehicle,” Ward said.
He said there would be no charges. Ward said the patrol car was probably totaled.
Staff writer Kathy Chaffin contributed to this story.
Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.