Home Police chase ends with state troopers taking man wanted in vehicle theft into custody
Public Safety, Virginia

Police chase ends with state troopers taking man wanted in vehicle theft into custody

Chris Graham
interstate 95
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A man who had stolen a rental car in Chesterfield County Tuesday morning is in custody after leading Virginia State Police on a chase that ended on Interstate 95.

Derrick Chandler, 45, of DeWitt, Va., who faces charges stemming from Tuesday’s incident, was already wanted for grand larceny out of Chesterfield County and had an active protective order against him, according to VSP.

Tuesday’s interaction started at 9:30 a.m. with the call from Avis Budget Rental reporting that one of their vehicles, a 2023 Cadillac CT5, had been reported stolen and was being tracked by the rental company’s GPS.

At the time of the call, the vehicle was in in the area of the Sleep Inn on Willis Road in Chesterfield County.

Agents along with marked units attempted to stop the vehicle as it traveled south on Route 1, but the pursuit was terminated at that time as troopers lost sight of the vehicle.

A short time later, the vehicle was located again as it took southbound Interstate 295, and a traffic stop was attempted.

The suspect disregarded lights and sirens and continued to Interstate 95 northbound from 295, ultimately taking the Wagner Road exit, where the suspect vehicle rammed a Virginia State Police marked patrol vehicle.

The trooper and an officer with Petersburg Police, who was in the vehicle with the trooper as a part of the Governors Bold Blue Line Program when it was struck, were uninjured.

The vehicle came to a stop, but the driver continued to refuse commands to exit the vehicle and stated that he was armed.

The Virginia State Police Tactical Team responded to the scene and was able to extract Chandler from the vehicle.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].