Juvenile crashes stolen vehicle into downtown business

Around 12 A.M. on June 16th, a juvenile crashed a stolen vehicle into Additive America on the corner of North and Herritage Streets.

Major Goyette of the Kinston Police Department reported that officers first recognized the vehicle around Grainger Stadium in Kinston as one that had been reported stolen the night before. 

Goyette said, “They got behind it to make a vehicle stop, but when the vehicle refused they followed behind it for about 10-12 blocks at a pace of about 30 mph. Finally, the vehicle crashed into the building.”

The driver then ran from the vehicle and after a short foot chase, the juvenile was apprehended.

Considering they were not traveling at a high speed, Goyette said the crash may have been a result of “inexperience” but it is unclear. 

In 2019 North Carolina state law changed the age of an apprehendable juvenile from fifteen to seventeen. 

Goyette says that “with this change, that was statewide...the larger pool of juveniles that are sixteen or seventeen now, this [juvenile’s stealing vehicles] does happen.”

Zac Holcomb with Additive America, who currently utilizes the affected space, said he and his wife headed downtown around one after waking up to their phones ringing off the line. 

“We woke up to phone calls from a bunch of people who were looking to get a hold of us,” said Holcomb. “They said there was a person who had gotten into a car accident and ran into the building. My wife and I arrived around one and they had a tow truck backing the car out.” 

Holcomb remains positive and mentioned that the driver “thankfully crashed into part of the glass front on North Street that was in between two support columns, avoiding what could have been major damage.”

Holcomb, his wife, and the rest of their team were on site until around 3 A.M. cleaning up some of the damage. He said repairs are projected to be covered by insurance. 

While Additive America is new to the downtown Kinston family, they have been serving locally and internationally for years.

Holcomb describes it as a “Contract manufacturer that utilizes polymers and plastics. We use industrial 3-D printing machines. We mostly use HP’s multi-jet Fusion Technology.” 

The Additive America storefront was projected to be open to the public by the end of June. 

“We were getting close to final inspection and getting things moved in….but now we’re looking at the end of July.”