The Hickory Police Officer involved in a collision that claimed two lives has been terminated. The incident occurred on September 8. Atia Shamseldin’s employment ended on October 4.

38-year-old Cynthia Nicole Lail and her son, 12-year-old Michael Lail, both of Hickory, were killed as the result of a collision that occurred as then-Officer Shamseldin pursued a motorcycle driven by 24-year-old Chanceler Timothy Johnson. The accident happened at the intersection of U.S. Highway 70 and 13th Street S.W. in Hickory. Ms. Lail died at the scene and her son passed away two days later.

Shamseldin and a passenger in the Hickory Police patrol vehicle were treated for minor injuries. Johnson, of Refour Avenue S.W. in Valdese, turned himself in at the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office on September 18. He is no longer listed as an inmate in Catawba County. Johnson was charged with two counts of felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle resulting in death. He will next appear in District Court on October 17 in Newton.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s investigation is ongoing.