High-speed police pursuit ends with driver dead in chaotic wreck on I-64 in Newport News
A 21-year-old Newport News man died after leading police on a high-speed chase that ended with a chaotic wreck on the highway.
A Chesapeake police officer came upon a 2021 Dodge Challenger stopped in the middle of the road in the 3700 block of Indian River Road shortly after midnight Saturday, according to Det. Dave Weir, a spokesperson for Chesapeake police.
The driver, Tilek Qualil Alston, allegedly performed a U-turn without signaling and drove to the intersection of Indian River and Campostella Road, where the officer attempted to get close to run the vehicle’s tags. Alston then ran a red light, leading the officer to begin the pursuit, Weir said.
The officer followed the Challenger through the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel before Alston exited onto Interstate 64 toward Newport News, Virginia State Police said.
Alston reached an estimated 130 mph during the pursuit, according to Weir.
The pursuit continued off the interstate at “high rates of speed” through Hampton, Newport News and York County before Alston got back on I-64 westbound, according to state police. When Alston approached the Jefferson Avenue interchange in the Kiln Creek area of Newport News, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a barrier wall, killing him instantly.
“Upon losing control, the vehicle ran off the road right, striking the jersey wall which pushed the vehicle back into traffic, across all lanes of travel and running off the road left, into another jersey wall,” said Michelle Anaya, a state police spokesperson.
Alston, the vehicle’s only occupant, was not wearing a safety belt, according to Anaya. No officers or other drivers were injured.
The Challenger and its tags were stolen, Weir said. Additionally, officers found liquor bottles, unidentified drugs and a firearm in the vehicle.
Explaining the decision to pursue, Weir said it’s up to the officer’s discretion to begin the pursuit before a supervisor decides if it should continue.
“That was the decision, that the vehicle needed to be stopped based off of the driving behavior,” Weir said.
Investigators have not determined whether alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com
