Motorcylists trigger wild chase through the county
Motorcycle rider flees; police canines, helicopter assist in search and arrest
A Woodbridge man now faces charges of eluding law enforcement and reckless driving after a 130 mph chase. K9s and a helicopter helped with the search.
The morning of July 25 had county residents looking up and wondering why a police helicopter was circling overhead. Earlier, Virginia State Troopers and sheriff’s deputies speeded west — then east — on Route 211, lights and sirens blaring. Soon, a manhunt pursued along Route 211 in the vicinity of Tiger Valley Road and beyond.
It was already a busy day for local law enforcement. Residents speculated the ground and air activity had to do with the earlier shooting of a young girl and subsequent arrest at a residence in the 200 block of Hunter’s Road.
Instead, they were observing a high-speed motorcycle chase that resulted in the arrest of Adam G. Messier, 20, of Woodbridge, who now faces a felony charge of eluding law enforcement and reckless driving, a misdemeanor. He was held at the Rappahannock Shenandoah Warren Regional Jail in Front Royal and released on a $5,000 bond.
According to a statement issued in Richmond by Virginia State Police Public Relations Director Corinne Geller: “At 7:30 a.m. on July 25, 2019, Virginia State Police Trooper S.A. Lam was checking traffic by radar along Route 211 in Rappahannock County when he recorded three motorcycles traveling 100 mph in the posted 55 mph zone. The motorcycles were traveling westbound on Route 211. Trooper Lam activated his emergency lights and siren to initiate a traffic stop.”
Lam states in his criminal complaint that he got behind the motorcyclists and “I notified dispatch. Dispatch notified the [Rappahannock County] sheriff’s office to assist.”
He reports that one motorcyclist looked back and made eye contact.
The two front motorcycles accelerated to a speed higher than 130 mph as they drove up Route 211 toward Skyline Drive. The third motorcycle “began slowing down and looking back at me,” Lam writes in his complaint. “He was motioning me with his hands to slow down.”
When the motorcyclist came to a stop “halfway up the mountain, I stopped to exit my vehicle, I gave him verbal commands to exit his motorcycle. He then drove around my vehicle and continued up the mountain” toward Page County.
Lam requested assistance from the Page County Sheriff’s Office and the Shenandoah National Park Police.
Although Messier continued to drive at a high rate of speed, Lam reports that the driver “continued to slow down and speed up” even “running west in the eastbound lane.”
Just inside Page County, Messier turned around and headed back into Rappahannock County. For safety concerns due to the motorcycle's speed and reckless driving, Lam terminated the pursuit at this point.
Messier drove back into Rappahannock County, where he ditched his motorcycle along Route 211 and set out at a brisk pace on foot.
“When a Rappahannock County [Sheriff’s] deputy approached, [Messier] ran on foot into the woods,” writes Lam. “Several K9 units [from the Fauquier County Sheriff’s Office] and Fairfax County Air One [were] called to assist.
“After several hours, [Messier himself] called 911 and wanted to surrender. After a few minutes, [Messier] was taken into custody on a private field.”
The two front motorcycles accelerated to a speed higher than 130 mph as they drove up Route 211 toward Skyline Drive. The third motorcycle “began slowing down and looking back at me,” Lam writes in his complaint. “He was motioning me with his hands to slow down.”