Judge Sentences Man to 1½ Years for Eluding Norfolk Police , Hitting Train With Stolen Car
   NORFOLK , Va . — Ragee Nyzear Smith , 21 , pleaded guilty in Norfolk Circuit Court on Thursday to felony eluding , hit and run resulting in damage to property , and being in receipt of a stolen automobile following a 2023 incident in which Mr . Smith led police officers on a high - speed chase and crashed the vehicle he was driving into a moving train .
   Around 12:15 a . m . on July 16 , 2023 , the owner of a 2014 Kia Sorrento reported to Norfolk Police that the vehicle had been stolen about an hour prior . Officers entered the Kia’s information into their stolen vehicle database , and the FLOCK camera system spotted the car in the 3300 block of East Princess Anne Road around 3:20 a . m . Officers soon found Mr . Smith driving the vehicle in the Wawa parking lot on East Princess Anne Road . However , when they turned on their emergency lights , Mr . Smith ignored the officers and drove westbound on East Princess Anne Road reaching speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour .
   During this time , a train was crossing East Princess Anne Road near May Avenue . Seeing the train , Mr . Smith turned right onto Courtney Avenue , turned left onto Goff Street , and was blocked at the train crossing again . Without putting the car in park , Mr . Smith jumped out of the driver’s seat and attempted to run away on foot , and the car crashed into the train in the 1200 block of Goff Street . Officers caught Mr . Smith shortly afterward .
   Mr . Smith pleaded guilty to his charges on Jan . 4 pursuant to a plea agreement . Judge Joseph C . Lindsey accepted the agreement and sentenced Mr . Smith to one and a half years in prison . An additional two and a half years in prison were suspended on the conditions that Mr . Smith complete two years of uniform good behavior following his release . Mr . Smith’s sentence was above the six - month high end of his advisory sentencing guidelines , and the plea agreement reflected the seriousness of the offense .
   “Before Norfolk had FLOCK , auto thefts could take weeks to solve , ” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi . “With FLOCK , these cases are often solved in hours . Good work by the Norfolk Police in helping to hold accountable someone who was endangering the people on our roads . ”
   Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney C . Duane Close II prosecuted Mr . Smith’s case on behalf of the Commonwealth , Norfolk Police Detective Alan W . Koenig led the investigation . The Office would also like to thank officers Nicholas A . Wirkkala , Jordan A . Marksbury , and Brian J . Daley for their efforts to apprehend Mr . Smith as safely as possible .
   

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