ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, Va. —If you were asleep along the I-81 corridor early Friday morning, you missed a high-speed mess that turned a quiet stretch of interstate into a rolling danger zone.
Just after 1:15 a.m., Rockbridge County deputies were pulled into a pursuit already underway — a southbound chase ripping through Augusta County and barreling straight into Rockbridge at triple-digit speeds. According to the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office, the driver was clocked at over 100 mph, weaving through traffic and driving in a way that put anyone on the road at serious risk.
This wasn’t some routine traffic stop gone wrong. Deputies, working alongside Virginia State Police and the Augusta County Sheriff’s Office, coordinated a controlled takedown — the kind meant to stop the chaos before someone gets killed. Tire deflation devices were deployed, and the runaway vehicle was finally brought to a halt near mile marker 197.
The driver, Melissa Lee Mathura, 43, of Mansfield, Georgia, was taken into custody and transported for medical evaluation as a precaution. Authorities say she now faces serious charges out of Augusta County, including felony eluding, reckless driving, and DUI — her second within five years.
Bottom line: this could have ended far worse. Thanks to coordinated police work, it didn’t. But blasting down I-81 at 100+ mph in the middle of the night isn’t just reckless — it’s a rolling threat to every family traveling our highways.