Virginia Beach man leads police on 120-mph chase through Eastern Shore

ACCOMACK COUNTY

A Virginia Beach man led Virginia and Maryland state police on a high-speed chase for more than 50 miles along the Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon that reached speeds of over 120 miles per hour and weaved in and out of lanes of traffic.

Miles of Route 13 were shut down during the chase, and area schools kept students inside, as the driver jumped back and forth between north- and south-bound lanes to avoid police.

No one was injured during the chase.

At 2:41 p.m. Virginia State Police were alerted that Maryland troopers were chasing a 2008 grey Ford Explorer along Route 13 and the chase was about to enter Virginia, according to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Cotten. 

Virginia state troopers took over the pursuit near Temperanceville in Accomack County, Cotten said. The Explorer ran over three sets of stingers, devices designed to stop vehicles by puncturing the tires, and wove back and forth between lanes of traffic. 

The chase ended at 3:20 p.m. near Birdsnest, about 22 miles north of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, when troopers barricaded the road with their vehicles, Cotten said. The Explorer crashed into several police vehicles before coming to rest at the side of the road. One police vehicle was totaled and three others damaged, Cotten said. 

According to Cotten police found $14,000 worth of cocaine in the Explorer.

The driver, identified by police as Damiean L. Knight, 32, of Virginia Beach, has been charged with felony eluding police, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, transporting cocaine and resisting arrest. Additional charges are pending, Cotten said.