Eyewitness recounts high-speed police chase from Henrico to Richmond
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- What started as a quiet Sunday afternoon in Henrico County quickly turned into a violent scene, followed by a chaotic car chase that stretched to Richmond.
"I heard the sirens first … and then we heard two loud bangs and then a big boom,” said Henry Wright, a bartender at The Continental Manchester, the restaurant the suspected car from the chase crashed into.
According to the Henrico County Police Division, this all started with a report of a stabbing around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 13, near Reynolds Road and Howard Street. Officers arrived to find a woman with a neck injury and rushed her to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Shortly after, officers spotted the suspected vehicle and tried to pull it over on Laburnum Avenue -- but, according to authorities, the driver didn’t stop. This kicked off the pursuit that moved through Henrico and into Richmond.
"Everything was kind of a blur at that point, just because nobody really knew what was going on," Wright said. "I knew it was serious when I saw all the cops with their guns drawn, you know, running after whoever was in the car."
Police said the pursuit ended in a crash at 7th Street and Route 360 in Richmond. When 8News went to the scene, we spoke to eyewitnesses, who said it ended closer to 6th and Hull Street. Videos of the aftermath were taken right outside the Continental Manchester.
Aftermath of high-speed police chase on April 13. (Photo: Henry Wright)
“I knew it was serious when I saw all the cops with their guns drawn, running after whoever was in the car," Wright said.
Police chased the suspect on foot after the crash.
At some point during the chase, another woman exited the moving vehicle. She was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Then, after the crash, a toddler was found in the backseat. He had minor injuries.
"I saw an officer pulling the child out of the car who couldn't have been more than maybe 3 or 4," Wright said. "We brought him into the restaurant and gave him a cookie and [a] Sprite."
The suspect, identified as 30-year-old Tyler Renard Robinson-Thomas of Henrico, has been charged with malicious wounding, felony stabbing, felony elude and felony child endangerment.
The original stabbing victim remains hospitalized in critical condition. The investigation continues.
