Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 3, 1990 TAG: 9006030098
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RON BROWN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When 11 police cars joined his 10-mile pursuit of a stolen van from Elliston to Salem, Dowdy said the road got a little crowded.
"I never seen that many patrol cars in one chase," Dowdy said. "It looked like a parade going down West Main in Salem."
The chase ended when Dowdy and Salem police boxed the van in and slowed it to a stop. The van was driven by Charles L. Reynard of Hagerstown, Md., who faces charges of driving under the influence, reckless driving, driving while license suspended and possession of stolen property.
Reynard also is wanted in Hagerstown on a malicious wounding charge.
Dowdy was driving on U.S. 460 about 11 a.m. when he first spotted the van. After running a computer check, he learned it had been reported stolen in Winchester.
He pulled his patrol car in behind the van and attempted to pull it over.
He radioed ahead for help.
While the van never reached excessively high speeds, Dowdy said the driver wasn't about to pull over.
Dowdy pulled up beside him and looked in the van.
"He was just driving," Dowdy observed. "With my adrenalin pumping, the chase seemed like it took just a minute or two."
As they neared Salem, three troopers, three Roanoke County deputies and several Salem police officers joined in the chase.
They tried unsuccessfully several times to box in the van.
The chase turned ugly when the van rammed a privately owned car in the rear, driving it off the right side of the road near Wal-Mart in Salem.
Luckily, Dowdy said, no one was hurt.
As Dowdy pulled his police cruiser in front of the van, Salem police officers surrounded it with cars on the side and in the rear.
Dowdy had slowed to 10 or 15 mph when the van tapped his car in the rear end.
Reynard was in Montgomery County Jail on Saturday evening.
"I'm just glad we got him off the road," Dowdy said.
by CNB