Augusta County police chase ends in Albemarle, two state troopers injured in crash

AUGUSTA COUNTY — Two Virginia State Police troopers were injured Friday night during a chase that began in Augusta County and ended in Albemarle County.

The incident began at about 11 p.m. on Interstate 81 when troopers attempted to stop a suspect vehicle for a criminal violation, police said. Instead, the driver reportedly refused to stop and a pursuit was initiated.

Police said the chase continued onto I-64 eastbound, where Albemarle County Police assisted when the pursuit entered that county. In an attempt to stop the suspect vehicle, spike strips were deployed at mile marker 120. The suspect vehicle crashed after hitting the spike strips, but a trailing state police vehicle also crashed after striking the debris field.

Two troopers were injured in the crash and taken to area hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

The suspect driver fled the scene on foot but was eventually taken into custody with the assistance of aviation and canine units. The suspect was treated at an area hospital and released into custody. Charges are pending, according to Virginia State Police.

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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at bzinn@newsleader.com. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Augusta County police chase ends in Albemarle, two state troopers injured in crash