A car being chased by a Roanoke police officer for speeding crashed into a minivan at a busy northwest Roanoke intersection Friday, shoving the minivan onto its side and sending its driver to a hospital, police said.
A large amount of cocaine was found on the car's driver, Roanoke police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said.
Joshua Markey Hairston, 21, of Roanoke is being held in the Roanoke City Jail without bond in connection with the incident.
The suspect led police on a pursuit that started before 4 p.m. Friday when a Roanoke officer conducting a radar check on Loudon Avenue near 18th Street, stopped a silver Nissan in the 1600 block of Loudon Avenue for driving 13 miles per hour over the residential speed limit of 25, Johnson said.
Roanoke police Officer R.H. McNiff tried to make a traffic stop when Hairston stopped in the 1600 block of Loudon Avenue, according to the police report. A police vehicle video confirmed the officer was exiting his patrol vehicle when Hairston's vehicle fled, Johnson said.
According to the police report, Hairston did not stop at two subsequent intersections. His vehicle then struck a white Pontiac minivan that was traveling north on 10th Street at the intersection of 10th Street and Loudon Avenue, police said.
Carlos Reyes, who said he was driving home from work when he witnessed the wreck, said he saw the Nissan T-bone the minivan, sending it soaring into the air. The minivan landed on its left side between a light post and a utility box near the intersection.
Reyes was driving his Ford Explorer behind the minivan when he saw the wreck, he said. He and another man ran to the minivan and tried to open its passenger door to pull the driver out, he said, but the door was stuck.
Firefighters arrived and sawed off the roof of the minivan and freed the trapped woman. Medics took her in an ambulance to a hospital. Dozens of onlookers watched from a hill across 10th Street.
The driver of the minivan was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. She was identified as Lisa Gail Johnson, 31, of Roanoke. There were no passengers with her. A Carilion spokeswoman did not have information of Johnson's condition Friday night.
At the time of the wreck, McNiff was traveling in the 1100 block of Loudon Avenue. The officer safely cleared the intersection of 11th Street and Loudon Avenue before approaching the wreck.
Hairston fled the scene, as did a passenger who was with him, police said. Hairston ran onto a Valley Metro bus that was stopped at the intersection of 10th Street and Loudon Avenue, police said.
McNiff found him on the bus and arrested him. Officers found a large quantity of a white substance in Hairston's possession that field-tested positive for cocaine, Johnson said. Hairston has been charged with possession of cocaine, felony eluding police, driving on a suspended operator's license, speeding and a seat belt violation, Johnson said.
The passenger was found at the intersection of Eighth Street and Harrison Avenue by another officer working the wreck. The passenger, who police have not named, was released Friday evening but charges against the passenger are pending.
This is at least the third wreck related to a police chase in the city this year, and at least the ninth since January 2010.
In January 2011, the police department put an officer on administrative leave after she crashed into two cars on Hershberger Road while racing to join the pursuit of a motorist who had run a stop sign.
In March, the department put an officer on administrative duty after he crashed into a fence off Melrose Avenue while pursuing a habitual offender.
Police Chief Chris Perkins said the police response was appropriate in both cases, but officers are expected to maintain control of their cruisers.
A preliminary investigation shows McNiff "acted appropriately during this incident," Perkins said in a news release.
"According to the preliminary investigation, Officer McNiff used due diligence and caution in his response to the dangerous and careless actions of the driver who chose to flee in an attempt to avoid arrest and prosecution," Perkins said.
The wreck remains under investigation.
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