SMITHFIELD, Va. – A suspect wanted in connection with the alleged attempted murder of two people near Colerain on Saturday morning is under arrest.

Yesterday (Monday), Bertie County Sheriff Greg Atkins confirmed he had received information that the suspect, Irish Lyngil Howard, 39, of Kelford, was involved in a high-speed chase through Southampton and Isle of Wight counties in Virginia that same afternoon.

Virginia emergency crews were working at 2:45 p.m. on Monday to extricate Howard from the 2006 Nissan Sentra, which he crashed on US 258 at Waterworks Road near Smithfield, Va. Howard was airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, reportedly suffering from a broken leg and head injuries.

A Virginia State Police officer and a Southampton County Sheriff’s deputy spotted the suspect vehicle, reportedly stolen following the alleged double stabbing of two individuals inside a residence at Wynn’s Grove Church Road in Bertie County. The Virginia lawmen attempted to stop the driver at US 258 and Va. Route 189 near Southampton Meadows trailer park, but the suspect vehicle sped away, leading the officers on a high speed chase through Windsor (Va.) and eventually to Smithfield where the car lost control and hit a tree, trapping Howard inside.

Just following the Saturday morning incident, the Bertie County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) issued a &uot;Be On the Look Out&uot; alert for Howard, passing along the information concerning the make, model, color and license plate number of the suspect vehicle.

Two unrelated victims, one male and one female, were attacked and stabbed after one of the victim’s residence was allegedly broken into while the other was visiting.

Both were eventually transported by separate Eastcare helicopters to Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville.

The only items stolen that were listed in the incident report included a cell phone and an unknown amount of money.