VIDEO: Colonial Heights man flees police, flips van on I-95

A Virginia State Police video that shows burn victim Glenn Fuselier Jr. fleeing officers at high speeds before crashing his van carrying three children was used this week to persuade a Petersburg judge to deny him bail.

The video, taken from a camera mounted on the dashboard of one of the pursuing state troopers' vehicles, shows a Chevrolet van driven by Fuselier weaving recklessly in and out of Interstate 95 traffic with several police cars in pursuit.

The most dramatic moment comes when one of the cruisers collides with the van, which then veers out of control and overturns on its side before slamming into a concrete barrier.

The vehicle becomes airborne and flips twice before landing violently on its roof -- just inches from a car stopped in traffic on the other side of the barrier.

"It's like something you'd see on one of those 'world's craziest police chases,'" Petersburg Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Les Lindsey said of the Feb. 17 pursuit. "It kind of keeps you on the edge of your chair."

Seconds later in the video, seven police officers jump from their vehicles and converge on the van, some with guns drawn.

One officer removes a 4-year-old child within 20 seconds, and Fuselier is yanked out about 15 seconds after that. Two infants -- ages 1½ years and 6 months -- strapped in safety seats are removed less than 90 seconds later.

Police were unaware the children were inside until after the crash. None of them was seriously hurt.

The crash at I-95's Crater Road exit ended a 55-minute, 50-mile pursuit that began in Prince George County and wound through the counties of Charles City, Chesterfield and Henrico before ending in Petersburg.

Police said Fuselier initially refused to pull over for a traffic stop after an officer noticed a phony inspection sticker and license plates that didn't belong on the vehicle.

Fuselier, 19, was charged with more than a dozen offenses, including three counts of felony child endangerment, attempted capital murder, felony eluding police, damaging state property, reckless driving, driving without insurance, and driving on a suspended license.

During a hearing Wednesday in Petersburg Circuit Court, Lindsey challenged a lower court's decision Feb. 23 to set bail for Fuselier at $46,000. The Colonial Heights man would have had to post only $4,600 of that amount if he hired a bail bondsman, Lindsey said.

"I got to thinking about it and said, I don't think he should have any bond," Lindsey said.

The prosecutor decided to admit as evidence the state police video, which was played in court before Circuit Judge Pamela Baskervill. She then denied Fuselier bail.

Fuselier has been in Riverside Regional Jail since his arrest the day after the crash.

"I think the video did help us," Lindsey said. "I thought she might want that to support her decision."

The Richmond Times-Dispatch obtained a copy of the video yesterday from the Petersburg Circuit Court clerk's office.

Wednesday's decision to deny Fuselier bail may have been moot. It was not clear whether his family was willing to raise the money to get him out of jail, Lindsey said.

A day after the crash, Fuselier's mother said she was disappointed with her son and "very upset" that he put the children at risk. They are the children of his girlfriend, she said.

"We're not very happy with him right now," Suzanne Fuselier said, noting her son's other recent legal difficulties.

In September, Fuselier was convicted of shoplifting and sentenced to serve four days in jail. In January, he was placed in a court-ordered mental-health and substance-abuse program after he embezzled $2,182 from Wal-Mart, his employer.

Fuselier was the subject of news stories four years ago after he accidentally set himself on fire while trying to stoke a campfire. Then 15, he was left with serious burns on nearly two-thirds of his body. He was nursed back to health with the help of the ACCA Shriners of Richmond.