Search fatalities

Ryan Ricky Houston

Age : 40

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/06/2024

Location : Interstate 26 near Exit 11

City : Mars Hill

County : Madison

State : North Carolina

Agency : Marshall Police Department (Retired Chief of Police)

Officer(s) :Retired police chief Thomas Michael Boone

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Driver killed by police chase crash (other driver also killed)

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/02/2024, recently retired Marshall Police Chief Thomas Michael Boone was driving on Interstate 26 near Exit 11 in Madison County when a stolen Jaguar traveling the wrong way struck his vehicle head-on. Boone died at the scene. The other driver, 41-year-old Ryan Ricky Houston, also died in the collision after both vehicles caught fire. Boone had retired from the Marshall Police Department only two days earlier after a 32-year law enforcement career that included service with the Burnsville Police Department before becoming Marshall's police chief.
Investigators determined Houston had been the subject of a regional manhunt following a violent crime spree that began the previous day. Authorities said he had fled after crashing a vehicle containing a woman who had been fatally stabbed, committed a home invasion, stole additional vehicles and firearms, and remained at large until the fatal collision. Earlier in the incident, a North Carolina State Highway Patrol trooper observed Houston speeding but did not initiate a pursuit because Houston had already created a substantial gap at an extremely high speed. The head-on collision that killed Boone did not occur during an active police pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wyff4.com/article/murder-deadly-crash-chief-fugitive-north-carolina/61806354
https://www.foxcarolina.com/2024/08/07/wanted-nc-suspect-killed-wrong-way-crash-along-with-retired-police-chief/
https://www.ourlocalcommunityonline.com/2024/08/04/two-people-killed-in-madison-county-accident-including-former-burnsville-police-officer/