High-Speed Chase Through Fredericksburg Ends With Arrest

STAFFORD, VA—A drunk man led police on a harrowing high-speed chase on U.S. 17 and then Interstate 95 Monday night before ditching his vehicle, fleeing on foot and then being caught in a commuter lot nearly three hours later, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. Richard Lloyd Garrett, 39, of Spotsylvania, was charged with reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, driving under the influence and felony eluding.

Shortly after 8 p.m., a deputy in the area of U.S. 17 and Washington Street spotted a speeding vehicle headed north on 17. He tried to pull over the driver, who kept on going, and alerted other police units. The driver got on I-95 south, pulled onto the right shoulder at the 133.4 mile marker, slowed down and then accelerated, weaving his way through traffic.

He went through Fredericksburg and into Spotsylvania, where at one point he briefly slammed on the brakes, presumably to cause a crash behind him. That didn't work, and a deputy then pulled in front of him to get him to slow down. That didn't work either, but the driver then went over the grass median and headed north on I-95.

He finally pulled into a ditch on the right side of the road, and took off. A deputy followed him through a wooded lot and into the commuter lot. He eventually was found beside a dumpster by a K-9 unit.

Photo: Stafford County Sheriff's Office