NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A man who crashed a stolen car into a train while eluding Norfolk police last summer pleaded guilty and was sentenced Thursday in Circuit Court.
A judge sentenced 21-year-old Ragee Nyzear Smith to one and a half years in prison on charges of felony eluding, hit-and-run resulting in damage to property, and being in receipt of a stolen automobile.
Just after midnight on July 16, 2023, police started looking for a 2014 Kia Sorrento after the owner called to report it stolen.
Using the FLOCK camera technology, officers spotted the stolen car around 3:20 a.m. in the 3300 block of East Princess Anne Road. They tried to pull over the vehicle, but Smith took off, reaching speeds in excess of 75 miles per hour.
During the police pursuit, Smith got stopped at a train crossing. Smith jumped out of the stolen vehicle, without putting it in park, and started to run.
The car crashed into a train in the 1200 block of Goff Street.
Officers quickly caught up with Smith and arrested him.
Smith pleaded guilty to his charges on Jan. 4 as part of a plea agreement. In addition to his sentence to one and a half years in prison, an additional two and a half years were suspended on the conditions that Smith complete two years of uniform good behavior following his release.
His sentence was above the six-month high end of his advisory sentencing guidelines.
“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.”
