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GREENSBORO — Two carjacking suspects are in jail after a high-speed police chase Tuesday afternoon that ended with a crash on Gillespie Street.

Police Lt. Dennis Willoughby said the crime began at 2:56 p.m. at the Relax Inn, 1747 McKnight Mill Road, when two men approached a person in a tan Chevrolet Malibu and demanded his vehicle.

The men threatened to attack the car owner with a knife but ended up beating him with their fists and stealing his car. The victim, Fred Becote, was taken to Wesley Long Hospital with a broken jaw, according to court documents.

Officers on routine patrol spotted the stolen car near Summit and Phillips avenues about 3:20 p.m. and chased it, Willoughby said.

The driver led two patrol officers on an estimated four-mile chase. It ended near 402 Gillespie St., when the stolen vehicle hit a parked police cruiser, Willoughby said.

After the crash, two suspects were pulled from the heavily damaged Malibu and arrested. No injuries were reported.

Police charged Gregory LaMont Edwards, 20, of 2128-J Everitt Drive, and Rayshaun Rochelle Hairston, 19, of 5509 Hitching Post Drive in Gibsonville.

Both were charged with common law robbery and assault inflicting serious injury. Edwards, the alleged driver, also was charged with fleeing to elude arrest and assault with a deadly weapon on a government official, along with numerous traffic charges. Hairston also faces drug charges.

Both were being held at the Guilford County jail in Greensboro on separate $75,000 bonds Tuesday night.

Court documents indicated that the chase reached speeds of up to 70 miles per hour and that suspects went into oncoming traffic and through two school zones while yellow lights were flashing.

The documents also said both men confessed to the assault and robbery.

The patrol cruiser that was struck had heavy damage to the front driver’s side. Another cruiser was left with a flat tire.

Witness Gloria Johnson said she was traveling on Gillespie Street when she spotted the suspects’ vehicle heading toward her and said it appeared as if a police cruiser struck the vehicle to end the chase.

“It was bad and I’m glad there were no children out here,” she said, “because somebody definitely would have gotten hurt.”

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com