SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) - Two people are dead - one of them shot by a state trooper - when a fatal crash on an interstate unfolded into a physical altercation between a fleeing driver and the officer, Virginia State Police said Sunday. An investigation was ongoing.
The fatal accident and shooting occurred in Suffolk on Saturday, when Newport News police told Virginia State Police just before 5 p.m. that its officers were trying to pull over a southbound sedan, according to a State Police news release. A state trooper took the lead in the pursuit of the car, which never exceeded the speed limit, as it entered Suffolk.
The trooper’s vehicle and the sedan made contact as the sedan approached an exit ramp to Route 58, after which the sedan ran off the roadway into an embankment and overturned.
Amity Jo Grey, 47, Newport News, was a passenger in the sedan and died at the scene, the news release said.
The driver, identified by authorities as Brian Michael Price, 45, of Chesapeake, fled.
The trooper located him minutes later walking along lanes of the Route 58 underpass at I-664 and tried to speak with Price, who then assaulted the trooper, according to police. That’s when the trooper shot Price, who died at the scene, the news release said.
The trooper, who was not identified, was treated for minor injuries and is now on administrative leave pending a State Police investigation.
It’s possible many motorists saw what happened due to heavy traffic, State Police said. An autopsy will be performed on Price.
