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Jhonattan Varela Rangel was spotted going faster than the traffic around his Dodge Charger around 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 19, south on Warrenton Road near Olde Forge Drive, Stafford County Sheriff David Decatur said.
Rangel passed another vehicle using a dedicated turn lane and proceeded to accelerate, Decatur said. By the time a sheriff's deputy turned on his emergency equipment, the Charger was traveling 80 MPH in a 45 MPH zone and continued to speed up, police said.
The deputy provided constant updates on the pursuit to nearby deputies, and the Charger sped up to 100 MPH near Solomon Drive, continuing past Heartfields Lane, and Richmond Highway onto Butler Road, the sheriff said.
A sergeant was in the area of Cool Springs Road when he turned onto Butler Road and began to head towards the pursuit. As the Charger took the blind curve on Butler Road near the YMCA, he crossed the double yellow line and was traveling directly towards the sergeant, Decatur said. If not for the original deputy's constant updates providing the sergeant enough time to swerve out of the way, the Charger would have hit him head on, Decatur said.
With additional deputies now involved in the pursuit, the Charger finally slowed to a stop at the intersection of Butler Road and Castle Rock. Rangel was detained without further incident. When asked why he was driving in such a reckless manner, Rangel advised he wanted to get home fast. Due to his actions, he would not be getting home any faster.
Rangel was charged with felony eluding, reckless passing on a curve, reckless driving, driving without a driver’s license, failure to obey traffic lights, passing on the double yellow line, and improper pass on the left. He was held without bond at Rappahannock Regional Jail.
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