A Harrisonburg man was arrested after initiating a police chase with speeds passing 100 mph.
Aidan Michael Bryant, 22, has been charged with reckless driving and felony eluding, and faces an additional charge of animal cruelty, because he had a companion animal in the vehicle with him during the chase.
It all began at 10:29 p.m. Thursday, according to a news release from the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, when a deputy clocked a vehicle driven by Bryant traveling 116 mph in a 70-mph zone near mile marker 91 on Interstate 64.
As the deputy attempted to make a traffic stop near mile marker 89, the vehicle, a black 2006 Mercedes, increased speed and eluded the deputy.
The vehicle continued southbound on I-81 at a high rate of speed, passing two southbound tractor-trailers on the right side of the interstate in the emergency lane. As the pursuing deputy was overtaking the two trucks the offender had just passed in the emergency lane, one of the tractor-trailers veered left into the deputy’s lane, causing his vehicle to make contact with the guardrail.
The cruiser sustained minor damage. C
ontinuing to flee southbound, the Mercury then blacked out, turning all lights on the vehicle off ,while continuing to travel south on I-81 at a high rate of speed.
As other deputies joined in the pursuit, the vehicle then pulled over on I-81, and the driver was taken into custody.
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