Police investigate fatal crash on Godwin Blvd

Published 2:10 pm Friday, January 31, 2025

As troopers and the Virginia State Police Crash Reconstruction Unit continue to investigate, preliminary information is as follows:

On Thursday, January 30, 2025, at approximately 6:30 PM, a Virginia State trooper attempted to stop a 2016 Harley Davidson motorcycle for speeding, 100/55mph zone, on Route 10 near Five Mile Road, in the city of Suffolk.

The unknown operator, refused to pull over and a traffic pursuit was initiated. The motorcycle operator fled eastbound on Route 10 at a high rate of speed passing vehicles on a double solid line. At 6:33PM, the trooper lost sight of the motorcycle near Kings Fork Road and terminated the pursuit.

At approximately 6:46PM the driver of a 2018 Ford Explorer contacted police to advise that she had been traveling westbound on Route 10 when she observed a motorcycle in her lane of travel, eluding police. The motorcycle sideswiped her vehicle on Goodwin Boulevard, east of Harrell Drive, and thought to have continued on Route 10. The investigating trooper along with Suffolk Police Department canvased the area for the fleeing motorist, and investigated the crash as a hit and run. The driver of the Ford explorer was uninjured.

On January 31, 2025, at approximately  12:42 PM, Suffolk PD notified state police that a body had been found at 4120 Goodwin Boulevard, matching the description of the motorcyclist who fled the night prior. The unidentified body was found approximately 25 from the roadway, down a 40 foot raven covered in brush.

Currently, troopers are still on-scene investigating. Attempts are being made to not only recover the motorcycle and body from the raven, but to identify the deceased and make proper notification. Once information becomes available, an update release will follow.