CHINA GROVE — The man who led authorities on a high-speed chase Wednesday night has been identified as Clarence Eugene Rhyne of Salisbury.
According to a report from the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office, Rhyne attempted to run over a police officer and was shot in the arm.
Rhyne, 45, of 103 Clancy Drive, Apt. B, has been released from the hospital and is in jail under a $25,000 secured bond. He faces charges of felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, assault with a deadly weapon on a law enforcement officer and resisting, obstructing and delaying an officer.
According to a press release from Chief E.M. Kluttz of the China Grove Police Department, China Grove officers and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office were doing a license check at South Main and Owens roads in China Grove.
The release says Rhyne, in a maroon Jeep Cherokee, neared the checkpoint, then turned and sped away. Officers followed, with speeds over 90 mph throughout the city.
The Landis Police Department joined the chase, which lasted about 6 minutes, when the Jeep struck a home at 703 Harry St.
As officers approached the Jeep, with three people inside, the driver positioned the Jeep in “a manner to threaten an officer.” As he moved the vehicle, the release says, a Landis officer fired his gun, striking Rhyne.
The State Bureau of Investigation responded because an officer was involved in the shooting and is at the Harry Street address conducting an investigation.
The name of the Landis officer who shot Rhyne was not immediately available.