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Miquel "Quel" De'quan Jenkins

Age : 23

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 10/24/2021

Location : I-95 Exit 160 ramp to Route 123

City : Woodbridge

County : Prince William

State : Virginia

Agency : Virginia State Police

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON WHY PURSUIT WAS INITIATED:
At approximately 3:45 a.m., a Virginia State Police trooper clocked the Dodge Charger in which Miquel Jenkins was riding as a passenger traveling 72 mph in a posted 55-mph zone on westbound Interstate 495 near Eisenhower Avenue. The trooper activated emergency lights and siren to make a traffic stop. The driver continued driving away and the trooper initiated a pursuit.
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OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY:
On 10/24/2021, Virginia State Police pursued the Dodge Charger from the Capital Beltway onto southbound Interstate 95 toward Prince William County. Twenty-three-year-old Miquel De’quan Jenkins of Fredericksburg was riding as a passenger.
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During the pursuit, a police dispatcher radioed that the Charger’s tags matched those of a stolen vehicle. Virginia State Police later acknowledged that this information was incorrect and that the vehicle was not stolen. Police maintained that the erroneous stolen-vehicle information did not affect the decision to pursue because the chase had already begun over the speeding violation.
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The pursuit continued south on I-95 until the Charger entered Exit 160 toward Route 123 at high speed. The driver lost control on the ramp, ran off the right side of the roadway and struck a Jersey wall. The Charger rode up the concrete wall, struck the underside of the I-95 Express Lanes overpass and caught fire.
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Troopers reached the wreck and pulled Jenkins and 24-year-old driver Curtis Armstead Jr. from the Charger immediately before it became engulfed in flames. Both men suffered fatal injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Jenkins, known to family and friends as “Quel,” was born on 02/10/1998 in Fredericksburg to Michael Jenkins and Aisha Cokley and attended Spotsylvania County Public Schools. His obituary reflects a large circle of relatives and friends who mourned the sudden loss of the 23-year-old, with condolences repeatedly emphasizing his close family relationships and the memories he left behind.
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TOTAL FATALITIES/INJURIES:
2 Fatalities.
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EYEWITNESS OR FAMILY STATEMENTS:
The families of both young men questioned why a speeding violation escalated into a pursuit that ended with two deaths. The families also learned after the crash that police had incorrectly broadcast during the pursuit that the Charger’s tags matched a stolen vehicle.
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DISPOSITION:
Virginia State Police investigated the pursuit and double-fatal crash. No trooper was criminally charged for the trooper’s role in initiating or continuing the pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Virginia State Police did not publicly identify the trooper who initiated and participated in the fatal pursuit.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.insidenova.com/headlines/updated-two-dead-after-police-chase-fiery-crash-on-i-95-near-occoquan/article_dd917064-34cb-11ec-bb3b-53dd27db0cee.html
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/police-pursuit-crash-kills-two-on-capital-beltway/2847200/
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/northern-virginia/mother-questions-police-for-i-95-chase-ending-in-deadly-crash/2850290/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/crash-police-deaths-chase-beltway/2021/10/24/c975f048-34d8-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html
https://www.wtvr.com/news/local-news/curtis-armstead-jr-miquel-jenkins-dead-interstate-95-crash-police-chase
https://patch.com/virginia/woodbridge-va/2-killed-virginia-police-chase
https://www.wsls.com/news/virginia/2021/10/24/2-die-in-crash-after-police-chase-in-prince-william-county/
https://www.legacy.com/funeral-homes/obituaries/name/miquel-jenkins-obituary?pid=200515360&v=batesville