NC speaker, others uninjured after SUV rammed
RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore and another lawmaker were unhurt after authorities said a pickup truck struck their sport utility vehicle on a Raleigh-area highway.
The pickup’s driver was charged Friday with impaired driving and other counts after Moore said his driver — a General Assembly police officer — turned on the emergency lights in the unmarked SUV on Thursday evening and followed the truck for several miles before it stopped. Several troopers and sheriff ’s cruisers also converged on the road.
The suspect, identified by the state Highway Patrol as James Matthew Brogden, 38, of Goldsboro, was taken to WakeMed hospital for evaluation before going to the Wake County Detention Center and being charged, a patrol statement said.
Moore said he, Rep. David Willis of Union County and Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Gurley were returning to Raleigh after events in Wilson. The speaker’s security officer was driving the SUV west on U.S. Highway 64 near Knightdale around 9:30 p.m. when it was rammed from behind at least three times, Moore told reporters at the Legislative Building.
Moore praised his driver, Officer Jason Perdue, for controlling the SUV and taking action on the road, which has a 70 mph speed limit. Moore said the truck stopped in the left lane of the highway about 6 miles later. No one in the SUV was hurt, Moore spokesperson Demi Dowdy said.
“Thank God we’re all just all right,” Moore said, adding he saw nothing to indicate that he or his vehicle was targeted due to politics or his role in government. The General Assembly-owned Chevrolet Tahoe’s license plate resembles a private owner’s plate, with none of the specialized numbering that lawmakers’ personal vehicle plates receive. The SUV didn’t appear severely damaged.
The Highway Patrol said Brogden was charged with several counts including driving while impaired, speeding to elude arrest, hit and run, failure to reduce speed, resisting an officer and property damage.
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said in a tweet that he told Moore he was “glad that no one was hurt in this alarming incident and that law enforcement caught the suspect.”