Man Sought After Wild Chase In Stafford: Police

STAFFORD, VA—Authorities are looking for a man who led police on a wild chase late Sunday morning that began on Kings Highway and ended on Interstate 95 when officers lost him, according to the Stafford County Sheriff's Office. Britney Bates, 34, of King George, is wanted for felony eluding, felony hit and run, felony destruction of property, reckless driving, driving revoked, identity theft, providing false identity to law enforcement and numerous traffic violations.

Shortly after 11 a.m., a deputy pulled a red two-door vehicle speeding while headed west on Kings Highway near Little Street. The driver—Bates—didn't have a driver's license but finally supplied his registration after repeated requests. When the deputy went back to his cruiser, ran the tags and found they were from a different vehicle, Bates took off and the chase began.

Additional units were called while Bates abruptly changed lanes several times, hit an orange barrel in a work zone and ran a red light at the intersection of Kings Highway and Blue and Gray Parkway. He ran another red light at the intersection of Butler Road and Chatham Heights Road before turning onto Colonial Avenue and then Forbes Street.

While trying to turn onto Route 1, Bates ran a stop sign and hit the rear of a vehicle on Route 1, where he got stuck in the median. The deputy got out of his cruiser and ordered Bates out of the vehicle. No dice. Bates managed to get un-stuck and headed south on Route 1, onto Route 17 and then onto I-95 north, where he passed several vehicles while traveling on the right and left shoulders.

Bates then exited the interstate and headed west on Garrisonville Road before spinning, careening into the front of the deputy's vehicle, and ultimately winding up back on I-95 north. At the Prince William County line, Virginia State Police took over the chase before losing sight of Bates' vehicle.

The deputy confirmed that the identity of the driver matched the DMV photo of the registered owner of the vehicle. Anyone with information on Bates' whereabouts is urged to call police at 540-658-4400.

Photo: Stafford County Sheriff's Office