HOPEWELL, Va. -- A Florida man, in town helping his mother fix her home, was killed after the driver of a pick up truck crashed into his car at a Hopewell stoplight.
Andre Bassette Jr., 45, was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Oaklawn Boulevard and Ashland Avenue on Friday night when he was rear-ended by a truck driven by 34-year-old Tequan Davon Taylor, according to police.
At the time of the crash, Taylor was fleeing police after a Prince George County police officer attempted to stop him for reckless driving.
Taylor was clocked driving 67 miles an hour in a 45-mile-an-hour zone, a Prince George County Police spokesperson said.
Bassette, who has lived in Jacksonville for nearly 20 years, was visiting his mother in Hopewell to help put gutters on her home.
"It just hurt me so bad to know that he's gone," Rosa Bassette said.
The police pursuit of Taylor lasted around one minute before his 1998 pickup crashed into Bassette's car at the intersection, sources said.
A resident who lives near the scene of the crash, Keisha Bolling, said she heard the impact of the pickup truck hitting the car.
"I was very scared, you know, really nothing like, I never had anything happen like that out here before," Bolling said.
Bassette, the father of a 17-year-old daughter, grew up in Hopewell and attended Hopewell High School.
Taylor, who took off running from the scene of the crash and is still on the run, now faces multiple charges relating to the crash, according to police.
"He needs to turn himself in, he really do," Rosa Bassette said about the driver wanted for killing her son. "I'm sorry but he needs to turn himself in. Cause we need some closure right now - he's out there, he's free and my son is gone."
The crash is under investigation by the Virginia State Police. If you have any information on the crash or on the whereabouts of Tequan Devon Taylor, you can call 804-609-5656 or dial #77.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
