NC man hits patrol car, is shot after swinging machete at deputies, officials say

GRAHAM, N.C. — A North Carolina man is accused of hitting a patrol car and swinging a machete at deputies, authorities said.

Benjamin Michael Morley, 39, of Mooresville, was charged with three counts of felony assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and one count of felony flee/elude arrest, WGHP reported.

Two deputies shot at the vehicle allegedly driven by Morley as he attempted to evade authorities after being involved in a hit-and-run accident that involved a University of North Carolina student, according to a news release from the Alamance County Sheriff’s Office.

Morley was taken to a hospital after sustaining an injury, WXII reported.

The hit-and-run incident occurred on the college campus at 9:15 p.m. Friday, WGHP reported. Morley did not stop for campus police but had stopped behind a Chapel Hill Fire Department vehicle that was responding to a gas leak in Chapel Hill, according to WRAL. When campus police approached, Morley allegedly backed up and drove away, the television station reported. A college police officer fired at the vehicle.

The other driver involved in the hit-and-run accident was not injured.

At 10:07 p.m., Alamance County deputies saw the vehicle in Graham, the Times-News of Burlington reported. Deputies attempted a traffic stop but the driver refused to yield, the newspaper reported.

As deputies chased the vehicle, Morley rammed into a deputy’s car, according to the sheriff’s office.

When deputies approached his car, officials said Morley “lunged through the driver-side window, swinging a machete at the deputies,” WRAL reported.

Two sheriff’s deputies fired shots at Morley and he was removed from the vehicle, the television station reported.

Morley was taken to an area hospital after deputies noticed he had been grazed by a bullet, according to WRAL. It was unclear when Morley was wounded, the television station reported.

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