Witnesses speak on high-speed chase, life-threatening crash in Winston-Salem

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (WGHP) — New surveillance videos and witness stories are shedding new light on a violent crash deputies say happened during a high-speed chase in Winston-Salem. Investigators say 16-year-old  Eleazar Medina was behind the wheel when the crash happened around 2:45 yesterday afternoon near Indiana Avenue and North Patterson Avenue. Medina is now facing multiple charges, and his mother is also charged. Meanwhile, a 61-year-old man is now fighting for his life at the hospital. People who work near the intersection say they are still shaken up from the crash. One witness says he knew something was happening as he heard multiple sirens getting closer to this intersection and described the crash that followed as a “disaster.” “We saw something like flying, and then boom! So, we sort of put it together and it made us rush outside,” Todd Porter, a witness, said. More than 24 hours have passed, but Todd Porter is still in shock over what he saw just a few feet away from where he works. “It caught us off guard. We’re in the car business so if we hear about a car accident it affects the mood in the whole building,” Porter said.  We have a new video of the crash, which we will pause before the moment of impact because of the severity of the injuries involved. We will also be blurring the victim's vehicle. According to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, the chase came to an end when the car 16-year-old Eleazar Medina was driving crashed into another driver, leaving the 61-year-old with what investigators describe as life-threatening injuries at the intersection of Indiana and Patterson Avenues in Winston-Salem. “It was a disaster,” Porter said. Medina is now facing eight charges, including felony assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting serious injury. He is being charged as an adult. Deputies say Medina’s mother, 35-year-old Adilene Calleja, is also facing misdemeanor charges for letting her son drive the car, knowing he didn’t have a license. “It could’ve been any of us, it could’ve been any of my family members, customers I sell cars to, it really hit home,” Porter said. Deputies say that chase was the second one Medina was involved in yesterday. They first tried stopping him around 12:30 p.m. before finding him again, resulting in the second chase around 2:45 p.m.