ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 4, 1996 TAG: 9612040053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: FLOYD
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITER
A grand jury indicted two Floyd County teen-agers this week on charges related to a car chase in August that led police through four counties and ended near Abingdon.
David E. Lucas, 18, and Tammy Lilly, 17, were indicted Monday by a Floyd County Circuit Court grand jury on felony child neglect, breaking and entering, and grand larceny charges.
Lucas also was indicted on two counts of attempted malicious wounding in connection with the first part of the chase, where he is accused of ramming a deputy's car. Lilly, a passenger in Lucas' car, was indicted on two counts of being an accessory to Lucas' attempted malicious wounding charges.
Lucas faces six charges in Washington County, where the 53-mile chase ended in a flaming crash after Lucas rammed a state trooper's car and lost control of his own car before hitting a tractor-trailer, police said. Lucas is being held in the county jail in Abingdon on his most serious charge: attempted capital murder of a police officer.
The incident began with an Aug. 15 police chase in Floyd County; during that chase, Lilly's 8-month-old infant was in the car.
A Floyd County deputy attempted to stop Lucas on U.S. 221 north of Floyd because he recognized Lucas and knew his driver's license had been suspended. Lucas and Lilly also were on bond awaiting trial on several felony charges, including theft of a handgun and ammunition, police said.
Lucas refused to stop and rammed the deputy's cruiser at one point. The chase reached speeds up to 90 mph before Floyd County deputies cut off their pursuit for safety reasons.
Authorities got a tip later that day that the couple were going to drop Lilly's baby off with relatives, and that's where the second pursuit started.
The teens then led state police 53 miles south on Interstate 81, beginning in Pulaski County. The cars reached speeds up to 120 mph until the crash in Washington County.
Lucas' car burst into flames when he wrecked, but he escaped without injury. Lilly, however, left the car with her clothes burning. Several police officers doused the fire, and she was taken to Smyth County Community Hospital in Marion where she was treated for first-and second-degree burns.
Floyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Gino Williams said Tuesday that Lilly has been released from the hospital and is free on bond. She is living with her mother in Carroll County, he said.
Lucas remains in the Washington County Jail under a $300,000 bond. The preliminary hearing for Lucas' charges in Washington County will be today.
Lilly's case in Floyd County will be heard Dec. 20 in Floyd County Circuit Court. No court date has been set for Lucas' charges in that county.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 linesby CNB