CHESAPEAKE, Va. — A passenger was killed in a crash and the fleeing suspect was fatally shot after a police pursuit that began in Newport News and ended in Chesapeake, according to a report.
Officers of the Newport News Police Department attempted to stop a white 2007 Chevrolet sedan in the southbound lanes of I-664 about 4:55 p.m. on Saturday, according to the Virginia State Police. The motorist failed to yield to an officer who was trying to make the traffic stop. As the vehicle entered the city of Suffolk, state police assumed the lead attempting to stop the vehicle, WAVY reported.
According to authorities, the suspect’s vehicle then made contact with a state trooper’s vehicle causing them to careen off the roadway in different directions. The sedan ran off the highway into an embankment and overturned in the tree line.
Brian Michael Price, 45, was identified as the suspect. After the crash, he fled the scene on foot. Amity Jo Grey, 47, a female passenger in the vehicle, died upon impact, according to police.
Shortly after the crash, a trooper located the suspect walking along the westbound lanes of Route 58. The trooper stopped his unit and approached the suspect on foot, according to the news outlet.
Price assaulted the trooper as he tried to speak with him. The confrontation turned violent and Price was fatally shot by the trooper, according to police.
An autopsy is pending with the Office of the Medical Examiner in Chesapeake.
The trooper suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene. Per normal protocol he has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the investigation being conducted by VSP, WAVY reported.
The state’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s Chesapeake Field Office is investigating the incident.