Highway Patrol says troopers right to use stop sticks

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. - State troopers made the right decision to use tire-deflating ``stop sticks&#39;&#39; to end a high-speed chase on Interstate 40 in which a Michigan woman was killed, a Highway Patrol spokesman said. <br> <br> ``In this situation we believe the troopers made the right decision and we regret that Michele Curran lost her life,&#39;&#39; said Sgt. Everett Clendenin. ``That was not our intention. Our intention was to reduce the threat to the motoring public. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s just unbelievable that these people take all kinds of risks and have no regard for human life in situations like this. This has had a devastating impact on all the officers involved in this pursuit,&#39;&#39; Clendenin said. <br> <br> Bond was denied for the two suspects during a short hearing in Haywood County on Tuesday. Larry Winton Doyle Jr., 29, of Augusta, Ga., and Kathy Lynn Thompson, 27, of Clarks Hill, S.C. are charged with first-degree murder because the investigation shows they killed Curran, 26, while committing felony crimes, said Assistant District Attorney Alan Leonard. <br> <br> Investigators said Doyle stole a 1999 Ford Excursion from an Asheville woman after putting a knife to her throat. He picked up Thompson and left the parking lot, authorities said. <br> <br> Police tried to stop the truck, but Doyle and Thompson sped onto Interstate 40 west heading for Haywood County. At the county line, sheriff&#39;s deputies picked up the chase and followed the truck to Exit 24 where a Highway Patrol trooper tried to use ``stop sticks&#39;&#39; to end the chase. The stolen Ford swerved to miss the spikes and slammed into the back of a car in the right lane, killing Curran and injuring Gregory Wayne Shelby, both of Niles, Mich. <br> <br> Ken Shelby, father of Curran&#39;s boyfriend, 30-year-old Gregory Wayne Shelby, said his son was recovering from the wreck at Mission St. Joseph&#39;s Health System and that his family is still in shock over Curran&#39;s death. <br> <br> ``She was just down here visiting some girlfriends and they were on their way home when this thing happened,&#39;&#39; he said.

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