Search fatalities

Kyle Alan Wagner

Age :

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 08/16/2021

Location : North Aspen Street near Deaton Avenue

City : Newton / Lincolnton

County : Lincoln

State : North Carolina

Agency : Newton Police Department; Maiden Police Department; Lincolnton Police Department; North Carolina State Highway Patrol; Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed after police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/16/2021, 33-year-old Kyle Alan Wagner died after a Newton Police Department officer pursued his car from Newton through Maiden and into Lincolnton, where Wagner crashed into a concrete bridge guardrail and his vehicle caught fire.
At approximately 1:07 a.m., a Newton police officer attempted to stop the blue 2014 Kia Forte Wagner was driving in the 1900 block of U.S. Highway 321 Business South. Police reported that Wagner initially pulled onto the right side of the road and stopped. As the officer prepared to get out of the patrol vehicle, Wagner drove away southbound on Highway 321 Business.
The Newton officer initiated a high-speed pursuit. Police continued pursuing Wagner south from Newton, through the town of Maiden and across the county line into Lincoln County. Other agencies became involved as the pursuit progressed, including Maiden police, Lincolnton police, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
The available public accounts do not identify the specific traffic violation or other conduct that caused the Newton officer to initiate the attempted stop. They also do not provide the pursuit's maximum speed, exact distance or duration, whether supervisors monitored or authorized its continuation, or whether officers considered terminating the pursuit as it passed through multiple jurisdictions.
After police pursued Wagner into Lincolnton, he continued south on North Aspen Street. Near Deaton Avenue, Wagner lost control of the Kia, left the right side of the roadway and struck a concrete bridge guardrail. The impact caused the vehicle to catch fire.
Officers reached the wreck and pulled Wagner from the burning vehicle. They provided emergency medical assistance until Lincolnton firefighters and Lincoln County EMS arrived. Paramedics transported Wagner toward Atrium Health Lincoln, but he died from his injuries before reaching the hospital.
No available reporting indicates that a police vehicle struck Wagner's Kia, that officers used a PIT maneuver or stop sticks, or that another vehicle was involved in the fatal crash. The fatal sequence resulted from Wagner losing control while police were actively pursuing him at high speed.
Newton Police Chief Vidal Sipe publicly described the death as a tragic incident. Newton and Lincolnton police jointly investigated the fatal crash. The Lincoln County Medical Examiner’s Office was also involved.
The public record concerning the pursuit remained unusually thin after the initial reporting. Searches for later crash-reconstruction reports, dash-camera or body-camera recordings, internal pursuit reviews, investigative findings, litigation, settlements or disciplinary proceedings did not locate substantial later public documentation explaining the decision to begin and continue the high-speed pursuit.
The pursuing Newton police officer was not identified in the publicly available reporting located for this update. As a result, the officer's pursuit history, prior crashes, uses of force, complaints, disciplinary record and civil litigation cannot reliably be reviewed without risking attribution to the wrong officer.
Wagner was a Charlotte resident. Available obituary information identifies him as Kyle Alan Wagner. The later public record does not appear to contain substantial family statements or litigation challenging the police account of the pursuit or crash.
.

OFFICER BACKGROUND:
The Newton Police Department officer who initiated the traffic stop and subsequent high-speed pursuit has not been reliably identified in publicly available records located for this update.
The pursuit continued through Newton, Maiden and into Lincolnton and involved assistance from multiple law-enforcement agencies before Wagner's fatal crash. The available reporting does not identify which additional officers actively joined the pursuit as opposed to assisting at the crash scene.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.wbtv.com/2021/08/16/man-dies-following-high-speed-chase-that-ended-crash/
https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/man-dies-after-fiery-crash-during-police-chase-lincoln-county/6WD7RDGOD5BSZGA4FMDGJJ4CTM/
https://860wacb.com/man-dead-after-chase-from-catawba-to-lincoln-county/
https://www.roseborosmortuary.com/obituary/Kyle-Wagner