NORFOLK, Va. — A woman is facing numerous charges after she allegedly struck a Norfolk police officer with her car, and then led police on a chase. An innocent bystander was also hurt during the pursuit, the Norfolk Police Department said.
Police said it happened shortly after 10 a.m. Monday. Investigators had been standing in the parking lot for Hair of the Dog Eatery and Chorizo Mexican Eatery on Hampton Boulevard when a car hit one of them, and then immediately fled from the parking lot.
The investigator suffered minor injuries and is expected to be okay, police said.
Norfolk police said an officer spotted the vehicle around 11:40 a.m. stopped in the 500 block of W. 21st Street. The officer reportedly tried pulling it over, but the vehicle began to drive away, which began the pursuit.
During the chase, the suspect allegedly hit another car at the intersection of W. 39th Street and Colley Avenue. The driver in the other vehicle was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
The suspect continued to flee, hitting another parked car before finally coming to a stop after hitting a telephone pole on Michigan Avenue.
The driver, identified as 26-year-old Kayla B. Gilchrist, then got out and ran. She was taken into custody after a brief foot pursuit.
Surveillance cameras at the tobacco shop, Shang On Colley, caught the moment Norfolk police said Gilchrist sped through an intersection and hit another car. The shop's owner, Aimee McAlister, said she heard the crash and then ran outside to see what happened.
“There was a car that was kind of wrecked here in our parking lot and another car here in our parking lot that was wrecked and a jeep flipped over in the road," McAlister said.
“A Jeep doing probably -- I’m not good at guessing this, you know -- interstate speeds, at least, came running through the Stop sign here at 39th Street, across the intersection and clipped a car -- that car is obliterated completely -- ran up this one-way street, clipped another car that was parked here on the street, the Jeep flipped into a pole, lost its roof there, continued to roll and landed back on its wheels further down the street where the girl then jumped out and took off running.”
Gilchrist was taken to the hospital to be treated for minor injuries and was then booked into Norfolk City Jail without bond.
Police said Gilchrist is charged with:
- Attempted Malicious Wounding of a Law Enforcement Officer
- Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer
- Eluding
- Hit & Run
- Obstruction
- Trespassing
- Fail to Yield the Right of Way
- Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road
- Fail to Obey Highway Sign (2 counts)
- Burglary
“It was just amazing that she was OK," McAlister said. "That nobody got hurt in that because it’s horrific to watch the video of. You don’t expect that both of those people are going to walk away from those vehicles.”
The investigation remains ongoing. If you have any information that may help detectives, you're asked to call the Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. You can also submit a tip online at P3Tips.com.