THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610190246
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: 68 lines
The wheels of justice are still turning for Danny Gray, the controversial former Dare County Republican Party chief cited last December for racing across the Bonner Bridge and on two-lane N.C. 12 at speeds up to 98 mph.
``I'm trying to save my driver's license,'' Gray said.
An appeal scheduled Sept. 24 in Superior Court was postponed, and Assistant District Attorney Robert Trivette said Friday he does not know when the case will be rescheduled.
Gray denied the charge on May 24 in Dare County District Court but was found guilty. The district judge gave Gray a three-day suspended jail sentence, put him on probation for six months, ordered him to pay $50 court costs and ordered him not to drive until ``relicensed by the DMV.''
The 40-year-old Avon resident appealed the decision that day, but neither the conviction nor the appeal drew any notice at that time. Reports of the incident did not circulate until his appeal was postponed.
Because he was cited for driving more than 15 miles over the speed limit, by state law his license could be revoked for 30 days to six months.
Gray said he did not deny that he was speeding the night of Dec. 14. He said the trooper tailed him closely for miles, and he did not know it was a state highway patrol car.
``It wasn't a chase, no,'' Gray recalled. ``There was a car that was on my bumper and wouldn't get off so I kept going and going and going. It went on for 28 to 32 miles. Just before I got to Avon, I got bluelighted. It took him that long to clock my speed.''
Although he said he knows he set his cruise control at 63 mph when he started out, Gray said he did not notice his speed before he was stopped.
Trooper W.G. Harrison said he was at Whalebone Junction when two cars sped by onto N.C. 12 in Nags Head. Gray's blue 1993 Lincoln Continental was in front, trailed by a Ford Mustang.
Gray said the Mustang was driven by Douglas Price, a Republican candidate for Dare County Board of Commissioners who also lives in Avon.
``It took me some distance to catch up with either of the cars,'' Harrison said Friday.
The trooper said he clocked Gray at several different times across the Bonner bridge, through Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to Avon at speeds between 92 and 100 mph.
Harrison said he used the VASCAR tracking device, which calculates speed by the period of time it takes to get from one point to another.
Price's Mustang drove on past his patrol car after he pulled Gray over near Avon, Harrison said.
Republican Party chairman for more than five years, until he resigned last spring, Gray made news recently when he accused powerful Democrat and longtime adversary R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. of peeking into his state personnel records for political gain. Owens said he did nothing wrong and that the public was entitled to know Gray was drawing full disability from the state. Gray worked for the state's ferry service until he left for what he called a disabling long-term back problem. Owens' actions are under investigation by the District Attorney's office.
As is standard policy with state residents, Gray was not taken into custody when he was stopped by the patrolman, who issued a citation.
``The defendant stated `I did it. I was stupid and it was all my fault,' '' the trooper said.
Harrison, a police officer since 1988 and a trooper for the last four years, said it was extremely dangerous for Gray to drive at that speed. The light traffic that night was fortunate, he added.
``In any kind of pursuit, you've got to consider the lives and safety of those around. . . . It could be very deadly for himself and anyone around him.'' by CNB