Trooper struck on I-264 speaks out

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Police say the driver who slammed into a Virginia State Police cruiser on I-264 Tuesday morning was intoxicated. The driver is now charged with DUI.

The signs at the Oceanfront clearly say it, "DO NOT ENTER" 264 at 21st street and Parks Avenue, but investigators say Cleveland Robertson did not pay attention to those signs. Instead, they say, after a night of drinking he entered 264 traveling westbound while everyone else traveled east.

"The first felony hit and run is where he struck the Chevy Malibu, continued going, did not stop for that accident, continued going and he struck the Trooper's vehicle and he continued going," says Sgt. Michelle Cotten of the Virginia State Police.

Robertson's vehicle struck Trooper Lee White's police cruiser. White braced for impact and angled the car to try to stop Robertson. "I really wasn't thinking about whether I'd get hurt. I just did it," Trooper White told WAVY.com.

Speaking only to WAVY.com, Trooper White said he saw "sparks and smoking" as Robertson's car hit a vehicle with juveniles in it. Robertson's car lost a tire and kept barreling down the interstate.

Trooper White said, "I just grabbed the wheel and held on and didn't flinch. I just watched it happen."

Robertson's car did not stop at White. It kept going and White quickly got out of his car and started running after Robertson's car as it continued going west in the eastbound lane.

"At first I wasn't going to catch him, but then his car started to slow either because his car was done, or he was so intoxicated his foot kept coming off the pedal," says White.

Trooper White caught up with the car and pulled his gun. "He looked kind of shocked. I started shouting 'get out', but then I saw he was in a daze, and I pulled him out of the vehicle and he fell to the ground," White said.

White said Robertson was out of it. "I told him he struck a car with juveniles in it. He didn't know. I told him he hit me and he didn't know what happened."

Robertson is in the Virginia Beach Jail, charged with Driving Drunk and two felony counts of Hit and Run.