A Patrick County Sheriff’s deputy was injured following an alleged pursuit on Sunday that culminated in a crash, according to a release from Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith.
The alleged incident began around 8 p.m. when Master Deputy Winfred Hill tried to pull over a suspicious vehicle on Ararat Highway.
The vehicle did not stop for the deputy’s blue lights and siren, Smith alleged and added a pursuit ensued.
Several times during the chase, Smith alleged the suspect slammed on brakes to try and get Hill to crash.
“The suspect reached speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour,” with speeds that fluctuated, Smith said, and alleged the vehicle at times traveled off the road and onto unpaved surfaces.
The driver allegedly was “extremely dangerous and erratic,” he said.
When the vehicle began driving in and out of the oncoming lane on Willis Gap Road, Hill decided to end the pursuit by using the Pursuit Intervention Technique, or PIT maneuver, which entails forcibly removing the fleeing vehicle from the road by intentionally making contact with the rear quarter panel, Smith said.
The maneuver was initiated when the speed slowed to about 30 miles per hour in the on-coming lane in a straight stretch of Willis Gap Road, Smith said.
When Hill made contact with the vehicle, it braked and made an abrupt left turn, Smith said, adding both vehicles crashed.
Hill’s vehicle overturned in the roadway. The suspect vehicle exited the roadway to the left and impacted several pieces of farm tractor implements.
The driver allegedly fled on foot, and had not been located as of Monday morning, according to Smith. The suspect vehicle was impounded, along with a firearm recovered from the passenger compartment. The investigation is continuing, according to Smith, who said he fully supports Hill’s decision to use the PIT maneuver to end the pursuit so that no innocent person would be harmed.
Use of the maneuver has been successful in ending pursuits, according to Smith, who added “Our goal is to remove the suspect from the highway as quickly as possible, to prevent innocent lives from being harmed.”
Nearly every Patrick County sheriff’s deputy assigned to patrol and investigations is trained in the maneuver, according to the sheriff. Patrick Sheriff’s Lt. Rob Coleman and Deputy Matt Rorrer were trained as instructors by the Fairfax County Police Department in 2015, and have been responsible for implementing the department-wide training.
Hill was treated for minor injuries and released from Northern Surry Hospital in Mount Airy, NC.
“Incidents like this underscore the dangers of this profession. We patrol alone, with help often being miles away, and we do not know the intentions of those we are trying to stop,” the sheriff said.
Virginia State Police Trooper Kevin Mabe investigated the crash.
