Henrico man arrested, charged with DUI after state police say he almost hit troopers at crash scene

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Henrico County man was one of three people arrested during a pursuit and crash in Chesapeake on Sunday, with Virginia State Police saying he nearly hit state troopers while driving through that crash scene under the influence.

At about 1:20 a.m. on Sunday, July 21, state troopers attempted to stop a 2019 Nissan Altima that was reportedly speeding on I-64 in the area of the 296 mile marker.

According to state police, the driver of the Altima — later identified as 47-year-old Phillip Gassaway, II, of Portsmouth — would not stop, so the state troopers pursued him.

Gassaway is said to have exited onto Military Highway, then continued onto Cavalier and Victory Boulevards. According to state police, he failed to stop at a red light at Victory and Greenwood Drive, then crashed into a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox.

The driver of the Equinox was hurt in the crash. They were taken to a local hospital with injuries not considered life-threatening.

State troopers took Gassaway into custody, charging him with aggressive driving, reckless driving, failure to maintain control, failure to carry identification, eluding law enforcement and driving on a suspended license.

According to state police, as they remained at the scene investigating the crash, the troopers were nearly hit by two separate drivers.

The first of these drivers was identified as 35-year-old Christian Edmonds of the Glen Allen area of Henrico County. According to state police, he is said to have driven his 2012 Dodge Ram through the crash scene, nearly hitting state troopers.

Edmonds was charged with driving under the influence after state police say he was uncooperative.

The second driver, 29-year-old Keshayla M. Griffin of Chesapeake, reportedly drove through the scene, nearly hitting both the troopers and Edmonds, who was being escorted to a state police crusier. She was also arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

Virginia State Police did not report any injuries as a result of these two drivers’ reported conduct. A spokesperson for state police said he could not say just how many troopers were at risk of being hit due to “the complexity of the incident,” as multiple state troopers were regularly moving on and off the scene.

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