THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 17, 1995 TAG: 9510170269
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
A Portsmouth man driving a stolen car - with two young boys in the back seat without seat belts or safety seats - led state troopers on an 11-mile chase that reached speeds of 100 mph Sunday night, police reported.
The 26-year-old man was stopped when three troopers in separate cruisers executed what police call a ``rolling roadblock'' on I-64 near Indian River Road.
The driver of the speeding car was identified as Steve F. Smith, whose address was unavailable. He was arrested and charged with two counts of felony child endangerment, along with reckless driving, attempting to elude police, driving while suspended and possession of stolen property.
The boys, ages 2 and 3, are not related to the suspect, police said. Their mother also was a passenger in the car, a 1994 Acura Integra.
State police spokeswoman Tammy Van Dame said the three, whose identities were not released, had just met Smith Sunday and were getting a ride to Portsmouth.
No one was injured in the incident, Van Dame said. She credited the light traffic at that hour - the pursuit began in Virginia Beach about 10:17 p.m. - and good judgment by the troopers.
``They waited to begin the rolling roadblock until there were only five or six cars on the roadway,'' Van Dame said. ``It was practically desolate.''
But one motorist didn't agree. A Virginia Beach motorist who was on I-64 said he was forced off the road by the speeding state police cruisers.
Van Dame said speeds during the chase varied between 80 mph and 100 mph on both I-44 and I-64. She said Smith tried to run one of the state troopers off the highway.
Police did not realize that the two boys were in the car, Van Dame said.
The pursuit started when a Virginia Beach police officer attempted to stop Smith at the First Colonial Road entry ramp onto I-44. Smith was driving without lights, Van Dame said.
A state trooper immediately joined in the pursuit on I-44 and was joined by two other troopers at Witchduck Road, where Virginia Beach police backed off.
Van Dame said Smith tried to run one of the troopers off the road at the I-64 intersection, where Smith entered the eastbound lanes heading toward Indian River Road.
That's when the three troopers employed the rolling roadblock, a kind of moving box that forces the driver to slow down. One cruiser pulled alongside the Acura; the others pulled in front and in back, Van Dame said.
Van Dame said the troopers were also able to make use of the concrete safety wall at Indian River Road as part of highway construction.
``He didn't have a choice,'' Van Dame said. ``He had to slow down.''
KEYWORDS: HIGH SPEED CHASE VIRGINIA STATE POLICE by CNB