Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 28, 1994 TAG: 9405310165
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But not when the driver is behind the wheel of a sports car.
Neil Havenstein and Danny Axsom were at the 12th tee of the Virginia Tech golf course at about noon Friday when their game was interrupted by a white Porsche speeding along the fairways.
The driver of the car was being pursued by Virginia Tech and Blacksburg police responding to complaints that the car was being driven recklessly at nearby University Mall. They had driven onto the golf course off Prices Fork Road.
"He was up on the 11th fairway, the 14th fairway, he was all over the course," Havenstein said. "He pulled up, and he stopped on the 12th. He was throwing stuff out, all over."
Virginia Tech police charged Michael S. Marsh, 25, of Spokane, Wash., in the incident.
Axsom said the man was frantic.
"We were on the 12th tee, and I walked over to him and asked, 'What's the problem?'''
The man responded: "Why is everybody after me? Why is everybody chasing me?" Axsom said.
"I said, 'Well, you're on a golf course!'''
"Oh, come on, man," the man reportedly said.
Axsom said he walked away from the car when the man started to open a suitcase.
Lt. Larry Snidow of Tech police was on foot on the course and got within earshot of the man in the car but was unable to get the driver to stop, Capt. Jody Falls said. Two Tech officers pursued the Porsche on the golf course for several minutes, as seven or eight baffled golfers watched.
"I think there were a lot of things being yelled, but I'm not sure if `Fore' was all of it," Tech Police Chief Mike Jones said.
Tech police said the suitcase was one of the items thrown from the car. They also recovered underwear, a T-shirt, a smokeless tobacco can and a drink cup.
Police said Marsh owns the Porsche and was apparently en route to the East Coast, having left Spokane just two or three days ago. Marsh's mother lives in Collinsville.
Sgt. Jack Ridinger and Officer Vince Houston chased the Porsche over four fairways. Police said they were able to stop Marsh when the car drove off the golf course onto a sidewalk at Prices Fork Road, then attempted to drive up a bank back onto the course after seeing a Blacksburg police cruiser blocking the way. The car slid down the bank and hit the police car, driven by Officer Don Robinson.
Ridinger said Marsh did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol and gave no explanation for his driving, other than to say he didn't realize he was on a golf course.
Blacksburg Sgt. Harrison Vaughan said Robinson's quick thinking kept the chase from becoming more serious than it was.
Robinson parked his cruiser on the sidewalk to block the car from entering Prices Fork Road in the wrong direction of travel during lunchtime.
The Porsche sustained about $2,000 damage to its passenger side, and the police cruiser suffered minor damage, Vaughan said.
Marsh was charged with three counts of reckless driving, felony property damage and attempting to elude police. He was released on bond Friday.
Even after Marsh was taken into custody and the Porsche hauled away, golfers on the course continued to look bewildered.
Bill Brady, a retired schoolteacher from Statesboro, Ga., who was visiting his daughter, jumped out of his cart and walked quickly over to police, who were surveying the damage.
"I tell you guys one thing," he said. "We're from Georgia, and Virginia sure does offer the most exciting game of golf!''
by CNB