Driver, passenger killed after Tesla crashes during police chase in Petersburg

PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia State Police have now identified two people who were killed in a police chase crash in Petersburg last week.

At 1:23 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8, Virginia State Police responded to South Adams Street -- near the Colonial Heights border south of Marshall Street -- to assist the Colonial Heights Police Department with a crash.

According to the Colonial Heights Police Department, a 2021 Tesla Model 3 had been speeding southbound near the 100 block of Boulevard. The vehicle was reportedly traveling at 70 mph in a 30 mph zone when an officer tried to stop the vehicle but the driver did not yield.

"The vehicle ran off the right side of the roadway, struck a residence, and subsequently caught fire," a release from Virginia State Police reads.

Colonial Heights Police said the fire spread to a nearby home, requiring the Petersburg Fire Department to respond and extinguish flames from the house and car.

The driver of the vehicle -- identified as 23-year-old Amani Pollydore, of Brooklyn, N.Y. -- and a passenger in the front seat -- identified as 22-year-old Demtrius Harris, of Brooklyn, N.Y. -- died at the scene from their injuries. Two backseat passengers -- aged 21 and 22 -- were taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.

"No one in the vehicle was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash," the Virginia State Police release reads.

Virginia State Police are continuing to investigate the crash. Neither Virginia State Police nor the Petersburg Bureau of Police were involved in the pursuit.