Va. teen fatally wounded after police chase

An 18-year old Stanardsville, Va., resident was fatally wounded by police Friday afternoon in a shootout after a lengthy chase along miles of central Virginia highways, police said.

The chase began about 1p.m. when a Greene County police deputy spotted Colby Eppard driving a truck he was using without the owner's permission. Eppard refused orders to stop and fled, first in the truck and then on foot, said Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.

The deputy chased Eppard, who ran into nearby woods, then doubled back and stole the deputy's patrol car. In an ensuing chase that lasted more than an hour and crossed multiple county lines, Eppard used the stolen patrol car's lights and radio.

He was finally slowed when Albemarle County police placed spikes in the roadway. The chase ended when Eppard crashed the car on Route 20, south of Charlottesville, where the patrol car hit an embankment. In an exchange of gunfire with police, Eppard was fatally wounded, Geller said.

The officers involved in the shooting are on administrative leave while the investigation is active, as is standard procedure.

--Michael Alison Chandler