ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 1997 TAG: 9702030074
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
A robbery suspect was chased from Roanoke to Botetourt County on Saturday afternoon, but police officers weren't the ones in hot pursuit.
Paul Wright, who said a man robbed him of $50 somewhere in the city, hopped into the back of the man's pickup truck as he drove off, Virginia State Police Sgt. R.A. Black said.
Wright hollered, ``Help me! Help me! Help me!'' hoping to draw attention, Black said. The truck ended up on northbound Interstate 581; near the Hershberger Road exit, Wright was thrown from its bed.
A good Samaritan, who asked not to be identified, saw what happened and picked Wright up. After Wright told him what had happened, the men drove off in pursuit of the truck.
Wright's rescuer, who is a volunteer firefighter or rescue squad member, called 911 on his cellular phone as they chased the suspect north on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County. The suspect turned off at Plantation Road, then headed north on U.S.11 into Botetourt County.
At Troutville, the suspect turned onto alternate U.S. 220, headed toward Bonsack. Wright and the volunteer followed the suspect onto Spring Hollow Road, a narrow residential road that is less than a mile long.
When the suspect pulled into a driveway to turn around, the volunteer blocked his vehicle, Black said. The suspect then rammed his truck into the vehicle, pushed it about 30 yards, then drove through a front yard to get around it.
By this time, state police and Botetourt County sheriff's deputies were looking for the truck.
The suspect apparently drove back to U.S. 11 and headed north to Trinity Road, where he parked behind a friend's house, Black said.
After the suspect told her some of what happened, the friend offered to drive him home. Soon after they left, someone called 911 and told police what type of vehicle the pair were in and where to find them, Black said.
Officers caught up with them on U.S.11. With a sheriff's deputy behind them and a state trooper in front, the friend pulled her car over. The robbery suspect, Timothy Lam, was arrested without incident.
Lam, 37, of Buchanan is being held in the Botetourt County Jail. He was charged with felony hit-and-run, attempted malicious wounding and reckless driving.
Wright was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. His rescuer was not injured.
Roanoke police have not released any information about the alleged robbery.
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