That traffic alert out of Ridgeway Monday afternoon?

That traffic alert out of Ridgeway Monday afternoon?

Turns out, that was just the beginning.

Star News initially reported a Nelson Traffic Alert as Virginia State Police investigated a hit-and-run crash in the Ridgeway community.

What appeared at first to be a fairly straightforward crash investigation would soon stretch from Ridgeway to Bassett and turn into a search through the woods, an armed confrontation with deputies, a seriously injured Henry County Sheriff's Office K-9 and an airlift to a trauma center.

So, not exactly a quiet Monday afternoon in Henry County.

Henry County Sheriff Wayne Davis told Star News that the investigation remains in its preliminary stages, but said the events began when Virginia State Police responded to a motor vehicle crash in the Ridgeway community earlier Monday afternoon.

According to Davis, the driver fled the scene of the crash.

FROM RIDGEWAY TO BASSETT

Virginia State Police continued investigating, and that investigation eventually led authorities north to the Bassett community along the U.S. 220 corridor.

There, Davis said investigators identified a woman they believed may have been the driver involved in the Ridgeway crash.

Finding the suspected driver, however, didn't exactly bring the afternoon to a peaceful conclusion.

Davis said the woman fled into a wooded area.

Virginia State Police then called the Henry County Sheriff's Office for assistance locating her.

Deputies eventually encountered the woman in the woods.

And that's when a hit-and-run investigation took a considerably darker turn.

SHERIFF: WOMAN PULLED RAZOR-TYPE WEAPON

According to Davis, the woman produced an edged weapon described as a razor knife or box-cutter-type weapon.

The sheriff said she became aggressive toward law enforcement and threatened to harm officers.

Deputies attempted for an extended period to de-escalate the confrontation, Davis said, but those efforts ultimately failed.

A Henry County Sheriff's Office K-9 was then deployed.

Davis said the woman stabbed the K-9 multiple times.

The police dog suffered several injuries, including what Davis described as a severe laceration to its face.

At this point, what started as a traffic crash miles away in Ridgeway had become a violent confrontation involving an armed suspect and an actively injured police dog.

DEPUTIES USE LESS-LETHAL ROUND

Despite the attack on the K-9, Davis said deputies did not resort to deadly force.

Instead, while the woman was actively assaulting the dog, deputies deployed a less-lethal impact munition.

It worked.

The woman was struck, the attack was stopped and deputies were able to take her into custody.

The impact munition caused injuries that required additional medical treatment, and Davis said the woman was being airlifted to a trauma center for evaluation and treatment.

Davis praised his deputies for showing restraint during the confrontation.

“I'm very proud of the men and women at the Henry County Sheriff's Office,” Davis told Star News.

Davis said deputies repeatedly attempted to de-escalate the situation and continued exercising restraint even after the Sheriff's Office K-9 was violently attacked.

ONE HIT-AND-RUN, TWO COMMUNITIES AND A VERY LONG AFTERNOON

The sheriff stressed that the investigation was still in its preliminary stages Sunday afternoon.

But based on information provided by Davis, authorities now believe the incidents were connected:

A crash in Ridgeway. A driver allegedly leaving the scene. An investigation leading police to Bassett. A second attempt to flee, this time into the woods. An edged weapon. A wounded police K-9. A less-lethal round. And finally, an arrest.

What began as a Star News traffic alert had become something considerably bigger.

The woman's identity, potential criminal charges, additional information about the original Ridgeway crash and an updated condition of the injured Sheriff's Office K-9 had not yet been released at the time of the interview.

This is a developing story. Star News will update this report as Virginia State Police and the Henry County Sheriff's Office release additional information.

Original Facebook source: Open post

Source note: Star News TV · Sep 28, 2026 9:52 PM.