Intoxicated Driver Sparks Police Chase Toward Capitol Building

(Updated at 12:00 p.m.) An intoxicated, unlicensed driver ran over another man’s legs on Pennsylvania Avenue this week and led police on a wild car chase toward the Capitol, police said.

Police arrested Luis Miguel Ferraz, 39, on Tuesday night on charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving, police said Thursday morning.

The mayhem began when police received a call Tuesday night about a kidnapping in progress, police said.

When officers tried to make a traffic stop about 7:25 p.m. at 2nd Street SE and Pennsylvania Avenue SE, a male passenger tried to get out of the car. Ferraz sped forward, crushed his passenger’s legs and raced toward the Capitol, police said.

Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Capitol Police officers stopped Ferraz at 1st Street NE and Maryland Avenue NE about 10 minutes later, police said.

“The totality of the suspect’s conduct manifested extreme indifference to human life when the suspect intentionally and knowingly engaged in conduct which created grave risk of severe bodily injury to the complainant,” Officer Araz Alali, a police spokesman, said.

Ferraz, an Alexandria resident, was hit with six charges: driving under the influence of alcohol or a drug, operating a vehicle while impaired, leaving after a collision that caused personal injury, aggravated reckless driving, reckless driving and driving without a permit.

He was arraigned Wednesday and released on conditions that he undergo alcohol testing and treatment, report to the Pretrial Services Agency and refrain from driving after drinking alcohol, court records show.

Ferraz is due in court Nov. 18. His lawyer did not immediately respond to an inquiry.