A Rural Hall man is dead after troopers said he ran off the road and into a tree in western Rowan County early Monday morning.
The incident began at approximately 12:14 a.m. on Monday, when N.C. State Highway Patrol troopers observed a white Nissan Rogue travelling on Sherrills Ford Road towards the Neel Road intersection, said Master Trooper Whit Efird.
The Nissan matched the description of a vehicle that had been involved in a shooting that had occurred on Sunday night in Statesville, so the troopers turned around to begin to follow the vehicle, said Efird. However, the Rogue was reportedly out of sight by the time the troopers were able to turn around.
The troopers were reportedly able to locate the Rogue a short time later and discovered that it had run off the right side of Neel Road and crashed into a tree. The driver of the Nissan, identified as 33-year-old Rural Hall resident Wesley Lee Alexander, was not wearing a seat belt and was pronounced dead on scene, said Efird.
The crash occurred in the 1100 block of Neel Road.
NCSHP troopers were never in pursuit of the Nissan, said Efird, as the vehicle was completely out of sight by the time they turned around to attempt to run the license plate.
Efird said that speed was the cause of the crash.
The Salisbury Post has reached out to the City of Statesville for information on the shooting.
