Fake Car Collison

Bryce Cullen 
Staff Writer

It was a Monday night at about 9 P.M. when Leon Cooper and his wife were driving home, driving separately, and had just pulled up to a stop sign on Willow Oak Road at Southall Road around east Raleigh. That is where Leon Cooper’s wife noticed something was wrong. They were on the phone together at the time when she suddenly said, “What’s going on here?” Cooper responded, “What is it?” She then followed up saying, “There’s a guy on the ground. I think he got hit.” At the time there was a dark sedan parked off the road with its hazard lights flashing. As the couple pulled up to the intersection the seemingly injured man stood up and began to limp towards the wife’s car. But as the man was doing this, he suddenly noticed Leon in the car behind his wife’s, and as soon as the two made eye contact the man stopped limping, turned around, and headed back to the driver’s side door of the dark sedan. Cooper recalled his thoughts as, “When I first pulled up, I thought the guy must be hurt, he must’ve had an accident,  and then I see him look at me and I’m like now he’s not hurt. What’s going on? This guy’s up to something. He’s up to no good. He’s trying to do something.”

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​Cooper and his wife continued to make their drive home taking a left at the stop sign. Leon Cooper, however using his ten years as a Raleigh police officer, decided to not let that situation slide by so easily. As he was driving away from the scene, he made sure to keep an eye on his rear view mirror to see if there was anything strange about this incident. As he was looking out the rear view mirror, he noticed the man walk back to the front of the car to lie down on the ground. That was enough for Leon to make a U-turn, but in doing so the mysterious man noticed Leon’s actions, which caused the man to spring up, get back into his car, and speed off. That could only mean that this man was not hurt, but it was a scam to get innocent people to stop their cars that way he may have been able to break in. So, if a similar situation were to happen to you make sure to remain cautious, observe the situation, gather details, and call the police. The best way you can help is to be a good witness.