THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 20, 1996 TAG: 9608200353
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 68 lines
The driver, a suspected car thief, is still at large.
A Norfolk police officer, trying to question a man accused of stealing a car, was seriously injured Monday night near East Ocean View after he was dragged several blocks by the car.
Officer Mark Hallenbeck, a four-year veteran on the force, ``suffered a serious knee injury, an injured elbow, collar bone, numerous scrapes and several other injuries,'' police spokesman Larry Hill said. He was expected to remain in Sentara Norfolk General Hospital overnight.
The driver of the stolen car, a white, four-door Honda Civic, got away. The man is described only as being in his early 20s.
Details were sketchy, but Hill gave this account:
About 7:17 p.m., near a 7-Eleven located near the intersection of Pleasant Avenue and Shore Drive, Hallenbeck and his partner were talking to a man inside their police cruiser when the man spotted his car being driven by someone near the intersection.
The car had not been reported stolen, but the man told police no one had permission to drive it, Hill said. The officers went to question the driver.
Hallenbeck approached the Honda and asked the driver to get out, but the man refused. Seconds later the suspect sped off and Hallenbeck was pulled along on the driver's side of the car across busy Shore Drive and onto Pleasant Avenue.
It was unclear whether Hallenbeck was holding the driver or vice-versa when the car took off down Pleasant Avenue, Hill said.
While dragging Hallenbeck, the driver apparently ran him into a street sign. The car kept going. The officer fell to the pavement about two blocks from the 7-Eleven.
``He appeared to be conscious but he wasn't moving,'' said Dan Smith, who was inside a house nearby when he heard the commotion. ``He was skinned up pretty bad.''
The car continued down the street two more blocks before crashing into a house on the corner of 27th Bay and Pleasant Avenue. Several residents standing outside the home narrowly avoided injury.
When Hallenbeck's partner arrived at the home, he found the Honda - with a smashed windshield and damaged front fender - but no suspect.
Corrine Turner, a resident, was standing there with a 3-year-old when the Honda sped into her front yard.
``I was scared. When I saw that car coming. . . I grabbed the baby by the arm,'' Turner said. ``He hit the wall, looked at me, and jumped out the window.''
Bobby Hawkins, Turner's grandson, said the suspect jumped out the passenger side window and ran down 27th Street. Hawkins, 18, said it looked like the driver was trying to turn the corner, but he was going too fast.
Residents said they had seen the suspect in the neighborhood before.
Hill said the investigation is continuing.
Several Norfolk police officers have been seriously injured while on duty in the past year.
Investigator Robert Douros, a vice-narcotics detective, was shot in the upper left arm during a morning drug bust on Reservoir Avenue in May in the Brambleton section. Another bullet ricocheted off his helmet.
Bicycle patrol officer Chris R. Amos was shot in the chest and leg while trying to catch a suspected drug dealer in Brambleton in January.
In December 1995, Officer Larry Bobbitt fatally shot a man who was attacking him with a 2-by-4. Bobbitt was hospitalized after suffering numerous blows to the head. The suspect, Cedrick E. Taylor, died a short time later. MEMO: Staff writer June Arney contributed to this report.
KEYWORDS: NORFOLK POLICE ACCIDENT TRAFFIC INJURIES CHASE by CNB