An Appomattox County man is in custody after a two-county pursuit, according to Sheriff Dan Smith.
Daniel Joseph Sparrow, 42, was charged with one count each felony eluding law enforcement, diving under the influence of drugs, obstruction of justice, driving on a revoked license, and multiple other traffic offenses in connection with the incident.
Sparrow is being held without bail in the Henry County Adult Detention Facility.
Smith said that Henry County Sheriff’s deputies tried to stop a Chevrolet 1500 pickup pulling an asphalt sealing trailer at approximately 10 p.m. on October 19.
The vehicle allegedly failed to pull over and began to attempt to elude deputies. The pursuit entered Patrick County on Virginia 57 and then traveled onto U.S. 58, at which point Senior Deputy Cody Fortner, Senior Deputy Doug Perry, of the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office, and Senior Trooper Jeremiah Mabe, of the Virginia State Police, became involved.
Both Henry and Patrick County deputies made multiple attempts to remove the suspect vehicle from the highway, but Smith said the weight of the suspect vehicle made such a task difficult. The pursuit continued east on U.S. 58, with the suspect at one point allegedly entering the on-coming lane of travel.
Fortner was able to stop traffic on westbound U.S. 58, near Spoon Creek, to prevent a head-on collision. The pursuit then re-entered Henry County, at which time the suspect attempted to re-enter the westbound lane of travel into on-coming traffic. Perry made the decision to intentionally ram his patrol car into the passenger side of the suspect vehicle, ending the pursuit.
“Senior Deputy Perry’s decision to ram the suspect vehicle most likely saved the life of an innocent motorist,” the sheriff said in a Monday news release.
No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
