Soldier Leads Virginia Police on Bonkers Mid-Speed Chase in Stolen Armored Vehicle
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Virginia State Police arrested a soldier from the National Guard base at Fort Pickett in Blackstone on Tuesday after they fled in a stolen armored vehicle , WTVR reports , leading cops on what appears to have been about as close to a high-speed chase the trooper could achieve at the vehicle’s maximum speed of 40 miles per hour.
According to WTVR, the soldier in question is believed to be an officer of the Virginia Army National Guard and drove the unarmed vehicle from Nottoway County to I-85 to I-95 in Richmond:
State Police says at 7:55 p.m., they were notified that the vehicle, which is not equipped with a weapon, was taken from Fort Pickett, a National Guard base in Blackstone. They pursued the vehicle after receiving the initial report and traveled along with it from Nottoway County to downtown Richmond.
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A witness, who saw part of the pursuit play out on West Broad Street near VCU, says he knew something was wrong when he heard the thunderous sound of the military vehicle.
“It just seemed like something out of a movie. I heard a large vehicle, it sounded like a tank, but it was moving pretty fast,” said Brian Wingert.
Crime insider sources says the suspect, whose name has not been released, is a Virginia Army National Guard Lieutenant and lives in the fan area. Sources say the Lieutenant is a commander with an engineering battalion at Fort Pickett.
According to WKTR , no crashes or injuries were reported. Videos posted to social media appeared to show police cruisers involved in the pursuit giving the driver a wide berth, which was probably a good idea.
Numerous sources made it clear that even if it resembles a “tank,” the vehicle in question is not.
Instead, it appears to be an M577, a vehicle designed for use as a mobile command post by military officers or other support roles. According to Military Today , the M577 is a variant of the M113 troop transport that weighs approximately 11.6 tons and is lightly armored to protect against small arms fire and artillery shrapnel. The M113 family is a dated design that saw heavy use in the Vietnam War and is (slowly) being phased out in the US military, which just about squares with the kind of equipment National Guard units tend to get.
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Authorities have not identified the driver. Witnesses said he got out and started walking around before police sent a dog to attack him, shot him with a Taser and took him into custody.
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Thaat's a parking ticket for sure.
Will he use the Ambien defense?
Can't say if it was Ambien but I am pretty certain some kind of drug is involved here.
That's how people usually park in Palermo Sicily.
That can't be good for the roads. He should be ticketed to cover the costs of highway repairs.
Depends on the temperature and the material of the roadbed.
At the speed he was traveling there would have been visible dust or chunks of macadam flying up from the back of the vehicle
and there wasn't any evidence of that in the 3 videos I saw.
Absolutely, most likely 100% correct. Although they are removable.
Center guide, single pin, steel with detachable rubber pad, std on the M113 and variants
I was living in San Diego at the time and remember that chase very well. The guy stole the tank from a local National Guard facility and ran rampant for a good ways, causing a lot of chaos and confusion for the people who saw the tank running wild. Luckily, there was no ammo in the tank, or who knows what the guy might have done. A friend of mine was on the PD at the time and they were on full alert while tracking the tank in case there was ammo aboard and the guy decided to start firing.
After that episode, the National Guard took extra precautions on securing their vehicles and equipment.
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Living in Missouri we can buy most any type of weapon without much of a check.
I'm saving up for my very own Abrams M1 tank....Home security ya know.
It didn't state how they stopped it. Did they let it go until it ran out of gas?
I was wondering that, too. Ok, we caught it at that blazing speed of 40 mph. Now what? Like catching a tiger by the tail.
At 40mph, gas usage is about two gallons per mile. Can't go too far on one tank.
Here's the one I'd like to have.