Home Petersburg: Police search for SUV, struck trooper to avoid checkpoint
State/U.S. News

Petersburg: Police search for SUV, struck trooper to avoid checkpoint

Crystal Graham

Updated, Dec. 2, 2025, 1:25 p.m.

State Police now say the incident occurred in Petersburg, not Dinwiddie County.

 

Dinwiddie County Virginia State Police cruiser
File photo courtesy Virginia State Police

State Police are asking the public for help locating a white Ford SUV that fled a checkpoint and struck a trooper in Dinwiddie County yesterday.

The ordeal occurred at approximately 3:16 p.m. on Friday on a ramp from Squirrel Level Road to northbound Interstate 85.

A trooper was informing drivers on the ramp to have their information ready for the detail ahead.

As this process was occurring, an SUV with expired temporary tags told the trooper that he was not going to go through the detail. The trooper informed the driver that he had to continue through, and the trooper put his hand on the SUV’s door handle.

The SUV instead reversed, backed into a guardrail, got back onto Squirrel Level Road and fled in the direction of Halifax Road in the City of Petersburg, according to VSP.

Because of the positioning of the troopers on the ramp, there was no pursuit.

The trooper was checked out but not injured.

The incident remains under investigation.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident or has video is asked to contact Virginia State Police at (804) 750-8758 or email [email protected].

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Crystal Graham

Crystal Graham

Crystal Abbe Graham is a reporter and ad manager for Augusta Free Press. A 1999 graduate of Virginia Tech, she has worked for 25 years as a reporter and editor for several Virginia publications, written a book, and garnered more than a dozen Virginia Press Association awards for writing and graphic design. She was the co-host of "Viewpoints," a weekly TV news show, and co-host of "Virginia Tonight," a nightly TV news show, both broadcast on PBS. Her work on "Virginia Tonight" earned her a national Telly award for excellence in television. You can reach her at [email protected]