PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — A Virginia man is facing charges after a morning on the run from police that ended when he crashed a 2023 Cadillac CT5 rental car into a Virginia State Police patrol car.
At around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22, Virginia State Police was alerted that a rental car had been stolen from Avis Budget Rental and was being tracked by the rental company’s GPS. The car — a 2023 Cadillac CT5 — was stolen from a person who had rented the vehicle legitimately.
“Avis Budget Rental got in touch with one of our special agents who’s assigned to help eliminate auto theft,” said Sgt. Jessica Shehan, a spokesperson with Virginia State Police.
Police then learned the car was in the area of the Sleep Inn on Willis Road in Chesterfield.
Troopers in marked police vehicles attempted to pull over the driver of the Cadillac as he drove south on Route 1, but the chase was ended when police lost sight of the car. Police were able to pick back up the chase when the car was located driving southbound on Interstate 95.
“Troopers and agents tried to catch up to it, but we did lose track of it for a moment,” Shehan said. “About 20 minutes later, we were able to locate it southbound on 95.”
State Police said the driver of the stolen car disregarded lights and sirens and continued to I-95 northbound from 295, ultimately taking Wagner Road in Petersburg, where the driver rammed the Cadillac into a marked Virginia State Police vehicle. Both occupants of the police car were uninjured in the crash.
The Cadillac eventually came to a stop on Wagner Road near County Drive, but police said the driver continued to refuse commands, wouldn’t get out of the car and told officers he was armed.
“It was at that time that we contacted our tactical team and our tactical team came out and was able to remove him from the vehicle safely,” Shehan said.
Petersburg officials closed a section of Wagner Road around the scene in response to the incident.
The driver, identified as Derrick Chandler, 45, of Dinwiddie, was eventually pepper-sprayed and extracted from the Cadillac by members of the Virginia State Police Tactical Team.
Once identified, it was learned Chandler was wanted for grand larceny out of Chesterfield County and had an active protective order against him.
