WILMINGTON, NC, (April 18, 2026) – A Wilmington man was arrested Saturday following a violent hit-and-run crash that left a child bicyclist severely injured near the Cargo District.
According to the Wilmington Police Department, a vehicle driven by Theodore Gause, 51, accelerated from a stopped position at an intersection on South 15th Street just after 10 a.m. on April 18. The vehicle crossed the centerline, left the roadway, and struck a 9-year-old child riding a bicycle in a nearby driveway.
The vehicle then crashed into a retaining wall. Authorities said the driver fled on foot but was quickly located and restrained by a witness at the scene.
The child suffered catastrophic injuries, including a severed leg, a compromised kidney, a fractured tailbone, and a laceration to the forehead. Gause faces multiple charges, including felony hit-and-run and felony serious injury by vehicle, along with driving while impaired.
Officials reported that hospital testing indicated the presence of benzodiazepines, cocaine, and opiates. Gause, who has prior hit-and-run convictions and habitual felon status, is being held on a $31 million bond. The investigation remains ongoing.
