THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, September 27, 1996 TAG: 9609270520
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE MATHER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 56 lines
Police unsuccessfully tried a rolling roadblock and tire-deflating spikes to stop a motorist who led authorities on a high-speed chase through three cities early Thursday.
The chase ended on Interstate 64 in Chesapeake when the suspect, driving a stolen car, crashed.
Up to three Virginia Beach police cars were damaged in the pursuit when the suspect repeatedly tried to ram them, authorities said.
The suspect, 26-year-old Christopher Allen Speight of the 200 block of Colony Drive in Virginia Beach, faces six chase-related charges. Also, 17 warrants were on file for Speight, ranging from 10 counts of driving on a suspended or revoked license to felony child neglect.
Speight's face was cut in the accident. Police Officer James Mockenhaupt's shoulder was slightly injured when the car driven by the suspect rammed his cruiser.
The chase, which reached speeds of about 100 mph, started about 1:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Diamond Springs Road. An officer learned the car had been stolen on Sept. 18 from a Bonney Road gas station, and began chasing the car when the driver refused to stop.
The driver led police through the Cypress Point neighborhood, across a yard, along Wesleyan Drive and onto Northampton Boulevard.
The chase continued to I-64 west, then to 4th View Street in Norfolk. The driver returned to the intersate in the wrong lanes, then moved to interstates 264 and 464 before taking I-64 again toward Bowers Hill. That's when the suspect lost control and the car crashed.
The suspect and the injured officer were treated at Chesapeake General Hospital and released.
Speight is being held in the Virginia Beach city jail without bail. He is scheduled for a court appearance today.
Beach police were also questioning two people after another chase Thursday night. Details of that incident were sketchy, but the chase began about 8:30 p.m. when a car being driven without headlights failed to stop for police. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
JOHN C. BELL
A state trooper, back to camera, supervises the arrest of a motorist
who led authorities on a high-speed chase through three cities early
Thursday. The suspect, left facing camera, was identified as
26-year-old Christopher Allen Speight of the 200 block of Colony
Drive in Virginia Beach. He faces six charges related to the chase.
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KEYWORDS: AUTOMOBILE THEFT ARREST HIGH-SPEED CHASE
VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT by CNB