Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, August 16, 1995 TAG: 9508160105
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MATT CHITTUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
The chase ended when the man tried to pass a tractor-trailer in the grass median strip on northbound Interstate 81 near the Hollins exit, Roanoke police Sgt. K.A. Johnson said. The van he was driving careened back across the road and slammed into a guardrail, ejecting the driver, Johnson said.
The van the man was driving came to rest against the guardrail some 25 yards past where the man landed. He was airlifted to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. Johnson said the extent of the man's injuries was unknown and that his name would not be released until next of kin could be notified.
The chase started in Southwest Roanoke just after 10 p.m., Johnson said. Police had received a report from a woman that she was being stalked. She said she knew the man and had had trouble with him bothering her before.
When police approached, the man took off in the van, Johnson said. He proceeded on Franklin Road to U.S. 220. Three Roanoke police cars chased the man onto Interstate 581 into Roanoke County and then onto I-81 going north, where the crash occurred.
Johnson said the man will be charged with traffic violations relating to the chase and crash, as well as criminal charges police were not aware of during the chase. Johnson would not comment on whether those other charges were related to stalking.
by CNB