GOLD HILL — Troopers with the N.C. Highway Patrol are looking for a man who caused a Tuesday morning vehicle accident, then left the scene on foot.

The man left his female passenger in the car with minor injuries.

Trooper C.J. Doty said witnesses at the scene identified the suspect as James Powell. His vehicle was seen on surveillance video at Cheeseman’s store before the crash.

A man identified as James Powell is being sought by the State Highway Patrol in connection with an accident Tuesday morning on Old Beatty Ford Road. This surveillance video is from Cheeseman’s store before the crash.

Anyone with information should call the Highway Patrol at 704-639-7574.

The two-vehicle collision occurred about 10 a.m. at the intersection of Old Beatty Ford Road and Old U.S. 80, off U.S. 52 in Gold Hill.

According to Doty, the driver of a tan Kia Sorrento was traveling east on Old U.S. 80 and a white passenger vehicle was traveling west on Old Beatty Ford Road.

The driver of the Kia sport utility vehicle made a turn and the two vehicles collided. It’s unclear whether the driver of the Kia was trying to turn around in the road and struck the oncoming vehicle, Doty said.

After the driver ran from the vehicle, troopers said, he caught a ride with an employee of nearby Stalite who didn’t know the driver had fled the scene of an accident. The employee took the driver to the Post Office on U.S. 52.

The passenger in the Kia refused medical treatment at the scene as did the driver of the other vehicle.

Crews shut down Old Beatty Ford Road near Gold Hill Village as troopers investigated the collision. The Gold Hill Fire Department responded to the accident.