Henrico man arrested and charged with drunk driving after nearly hitting police officers at the scene of an accident, according to state police

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Henrico County man was one of three people arrested Sunday in a chase and crash in Chesapeake. Virginia State Police say he nearly collided with troopers while driving through the crash scene while under the influence of alcohol.

On Sunday, July 21, at approximately 1:20 a.m., State Police troopers attempted to stop a 2019 Nissan Altima that was allegedly speeding on I-64 in the area of ​​the 296 mph marker.

According to state police, the driver of the Altima – later identified as 47-year-old Phillip Gassaway II of Portsmouth – refused to stop, so state police pursued him.

Gassaway allegedly exited onto Military Highway and then continued onto Cavalier and Victory Boulevards. According to state police, he failed to stop at a red light at the corner of Victory and Greenwood Drive and then crashed into a 2020 Chevrolet Equinox.

The driver of the Equinox was injured in the crash. He was taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

State police took Gassaway into custody and charged him with aggressive driving, reckless driving, failure to maintain control of vehicle, failure to carry identification, eluding police and driving without a license.

According to state police, while troopers remained on scene investigating the accident, they were nearly struck by two different drivers.

The first of these drivers was identified as 35-year-old Christian Edmonds of the Glen Allen area of ​​Henrico County. State police say he drove his 2012 Dodge Ram through the crash scene, nearly hitting police officers.

Edmonds was charged with drunken driving after failing to cooperate, according to state police.

The second driver, 29-year-old Keshayla M. Griffin of Chesapeake, reportedly drove through the crash scene and nearly collided with both the troopers and Edmonds, who was being escorted to a state police cruiser. She was also arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

Virginia State Police reported no injuries as a result of the conduct of those two drivers. A State Police spokesman said he could not say how many officers were at risk of being struck due to the “complexity of the incident,” as multiple officers were responding to and from the scene of the accident on a regular basis.