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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