Raymond Boanerge Benet (Photo courtesy Newport News Police Department)
A 36-year-old York County man was arrested Saturday after he led police on a chase beginning in Newport News and ending shortly after he crashed into a tree in Williamsburg.
Newport News Police Department officers on patrol near 33rd Street and Wickham Avenue saw a silver sedan with a broken taillight at about 11 p.m. Saturday. They also observed the vehicle driving erratically. The officers tried to initiate a traffic stop at the intersection of 27th Street and Orcutt Avenue, according to Lou Thurston of the Newport News Police Department.
Thurston said the driver of the sedan, later identified as Raymond Boanerge Benet of the 100 block of Tabb Lane in York County, continued driving at the speed limit, running several red lights and ignoring a sign saying the road was closed. The vehicle crossed into the City of Hampton and merged onto Interstate 664. The pursuing Newport News police officers then informed the Virginia State Police of the chase, with troopers taking over the pursuit when the vehicle entered the westbound lanes of I-64.
The pursuit continued for several miles until the vehicle crashed on Capitol Landing Road near Hamilton Avenue in Williamsburg. Thurston said Benet got out of the car and ran behind some nearby houses on the 500 block of Hamilton Avenue, where he was arrested. Benet was the only person in the car. He was taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.
Hamilton Avenue is located off Capitol Landing Road near its intersection with I-64 at exit 238.
Thurston said materials believed to be drugs were recovered from the vehicle and sent for testing. He said the department will not release the name of the suspected drug until it has been confirmed by the lab.
Benet has been charged with one count of reckless driving, one count of driving under the influence, one count of felony evade and elude and one count of possession of a schedule I or II substance.
Benet was taken to the Newport News Jail following his release from the hospital.