Armed robbery suspect dies after Greensboro crash on Summit Avenue

Greensboro police say a robbery call at a Walgreens on East Bessemer Avenue turned into a fatal crash within minutes Wednesday evening, when a black SUV fled north on Summit Avenue and later wrecked near Phillips Avenue on the bridge over US 29.

Officers were dispatched around 6:45 p.m. to what police described as an armed subject call at the store. While officers were responding, they were told the suspect had left in a black SUV headed north on Summit Avenue. An officer spotted the vehicle, activated blue lights and gave a short siren burst in an attempt to stop it.

When the SUV sped away, the officer did not pursue and instead lost sight of the vehicle, police said. The crash scene was later found on Summit Avenue, and officers said the driver had been thrown from the SUV. The vehicle came to rest on Phillips Avenue on the bridge over US 29, where the driver died from injuries suffered in the wreck.

Police said that after the crash, officers were told the suspect had committed an armed robbery at the Walgreens before fleeing. Summit Avenue was closed between Denim Road and Ball Street during the response, cutting off a major Greensboro corridor during the evening commute and adding to traffic disruption in the area.

The episode put a sharp spotlight on the risks that can unfold when a suspect in an armed call bolts into traffic on a busy city road. The officer’s decision not to continue the pursuit reflected the hazards of chasing a fast-moving vehicle through a congested corridor where bystanders and other drivers can be put in danger in seconds.

The investigation remained ongoing after the crash as police continued to piece together the sequence from the Walgreens call to the wreck on Summit Avenue. For Greensboro, the case was a grim example of how a routine retail alarm can escalate into a deadly collision before the scene fully stabilizes.