Police say a driver was arrested after he and a passenger fled from a car that crashed into a tree and caught on fire in a Cary neighborhood Tuesday evening.
The Cary Fire Protection District and Cary Police Department responded around 9:35 p.m. Tuesday to the 300 block of Alma Terrace for a report of a vehicle crash.
The crash involved a single vehicle that struck a tree and caught on fire.
Firefighters pulled a hose line to extinguish it but no occupants from the car were at the scene.
Cary Deputy Police Chief Scott Naydenoff said police officers located the two occupants of the car in the vicinity after they attempted to flee on foot.
The driver was identified as Miguel Garcia, 19, who lives just blocks away in the 400 block of West James Way.
Officers determined Garcia was driving under the influence at the time of the crash, Naydenoff said.
He also did not have a valid driver’s license, was allegedly not wearing a seat belt and was unlawfully transporting alcohol in the car.
Garcia was arrested and charged with driving under the influence, driving without a valid driver’s license, leaving the scene of a traffic crash, failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, disobeying a stop sign, failing to wear a seat belt, unlawful consumption of alcohol by a minor and unlawful transportation of alcohol.
Garcia and the passenger, a 21-year-old, were evaluated by paramedics and both declined transport to the hospital.
A tow truck was called to remove the damaged vehicle from the scene.
Naydenoff said the passenger was not cited or charged but the incident remains under investigation.