Driver plunges truck into river and drowns trying to escape deputies, NC cops say
A driver plunged into a river and drowned as he tried to escape deputies, a North Carolina sheriff’s office said.
The man is accused of being behind the wheel of a stolen pickup truck when deputies tried to pull him over Monday, July 21. The driver didn’t stop and raced toward N.C. Highway 710, leading to a chase, the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a news release.
“The pursuit concluded when the driver veered onto Recreation Center Road in Maxton and drove into the Lumber River at a boat entry point,” deputies wrote. “The driver exited the vehicle and attempted to swim away in an effort to evade arrest.”
First responders tried to save the man when they saw him struggling in the water. But he was “swept downstream” before his body was pulled from the river, according to the sheriff’s office.
The man was identified as 50-year-old Gary Dean Chavis of Pembroke.
“A female passenger in the vehicle was safely rescued by law enforcement before the truck became submerged,” deputies wrote.
Several agencies had helped to search the water in the Maxton area, a roughly 100-mile drive southwest from Raleigh. The sheriff’s office said it has asked the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to look into the incident independently.
This story was originally published July 22, 2025 at 3:25 PM with the headline "Driver plunges truck into river and drowns trying to escape deputies, NC cops say."
