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Inset: Theodore Gause (Wilmington Police Department). Background: The North Carolina driveway where Theodore Gause allegedly hit a 9-year-old sitting on a bicycle and severed his leg (WECT/YouTube).
In a tragic incident in North Carolina, a man under the influence of cocaine, opiates, and benzodiazepines drove off the road and struck a 9-year-old boy, resulting in the child’s leg being severed. The boy was sitting on his bicycle in his driveway when the vehicle collided with him, propelling him into a retaining wall, according to police reports.
The suspect, Theodore Gause, 51, is now confronted with multiple charges. Authorities have charged him with felony serious injury by vehicle, felony hit and run, driving under the influence, and operating a vehicle with a revoked license following the crash that occurred on April 20 in New Hanover County.
The Wilmington Police Department shared in a Facebook press release that Gause veered across the centerline while driving along the 600 block of South 15th Street, colliding with the child who was on his bicycle.
Local prosecutors and officials revealed that Gause’s vehicle, along with the boy, crashed into a retaining wall before it came to a halt, as reported by Port City Daily.
Witnesses described how Gause, after accelerating rapidly from a stop near 608 South 15th Street, struck the young cyclist. Following the impact, Gause reportedly fled on foot but was soon apprehended by authorities, as noted by local NBC affiliate WECT.
Gause allegedly told investigators he thought he hit a curb; when he was informed it was a child he tried to run off again, according to WECT, citing information raised by prosecutors at a bond hearing.
Court records viewed by Law&Crime say Gause has an “extensive criminal history” that is “assaultive in nature.” He was released from prison in May 2025 and his parole just ended March 6, per the records.
“[Gause] should have known that the vehicle he was operating was involved in a collision, and that collision resulted in serious injury to [the victim],” an arrest warrant states. “The defendant unlawfully and willfully did operate motor vehicle on street or highway while the defendant’s driver’s license was revoked.”
The arrest warrant says Gause “amputated” the leg of his victim and left him with other serious injuries, which led to his hospitalization at the Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Gause was ordered held on a $31 million bond last week and is due back in court on May 7.