Man dies after pursuit
Published 3:19 pm Thursday, September 23, 2010
A Suffolk man died when he wrecked his car following a police pursuit Wednesday night.
Wesley Gardner Allen, 35, was pronounced dead at the scene following the single-vehicle accident on White Marsh Road, city spokeswoman Debbie George said Thursday.
On Wednesday about 11:18 p.m., a police officer saw Allen driving a red Ford F-350 pickup truck on East Washington Street. Knowing that Allen was wanted by Western Tidewater Regional Jail for escaping from house arrest, the officer followed him onto White Marsh Road and attempted to initiate a traffic stop.
Allen continued driving southbound for less than a mile at about 25 miles per hour, George said. Allen then “accelerated significantly,” George said. The officer cut off lights and sirens but continued down White Marsh Road in the same direction as the suspect, she said.
When the officer approached the 1800 block of White Marsh Road, he discovered the suspect’s vehicle in the roadway. Allen had apparently lost control in a curve and struck a tree, George said. He was dead at the scene, though he had not been ejected from the vehicle.
According to George, all police pursuits are reviewed internally, whether or not they end in a crash. No disciplinary action has been taken against the officer, she added.
Allen pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, forgery and uttering in June 2007, according to court records.