Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
No one was injured in the 14-minute chase, which began at 7:09 p.m. when Trooper David Martin attempted to stop a 1985 Honda Accord on suspicion that its windows were illegally tinted. Police said the driver of the Honda later told them he fled because he thought he would be stopped for speeding.
The driver ignored Martin when he pulled his cruiser beside him on northbound U.S. 220. Instead, he accelerated, reaching speeds up to 80 mph, Martin said.
``When [the Honda] turned off at Yellow Mountain Road, I said, `I'll wait for backup, and we should all be finished with this silly business in no time,''' Martin said. ``I had no idea where he was taking me. I'm saying, `He's going to wreck on this road.'''
The chase continued into Roanoke, where two city officers joined in. Three miles later, the driver turned north onto 13th Street Northeast and into the front of a car.
Police arrested Woodrow E. Owens of the 6700 block of Quail Place Northeast. Roanoke police charged Owens with reckless driving. State police charged him with driving with a suspended license, driving with no insurance, driving with tinted windows and eluding a police officer.
His car sustained about $750 in damage; the other car, about $300.
by CNB