Lexington police investigating after RV suspected in two hit-and-runs is found in flames

Lexington police believe an RV was involved in a hit-and-run collision on Saturday and later struck a police car before ending up on fire by the side of a rural Fayette County road Sunday night— all while the owner of the vehicle was out of town.

Police first saw the RV after a person reported a suspicious vehicle that was parked in an area that is under development off Providence Place Parkway near Newtown Pike, police Lt. Scott May said. The person in the RV started to drive away when the officer arrived, and the officer followed.

The officer turned on their lights and sirens, but the driver of the RV reportedly would not stop and continued on Newtown Pike, eventually going the wrong direction at a split with a grass median. The RV traveled the wrong way down Newtown Pike before stopping, backing up across the grassy median at a high rate of speed and rear-ending the officer’s patrol car before driving away, May said.

The officer in the patrol car that was hit was uninjured, May said. During the incident on Newtown Pike, the officer and witnesses were able to see the license plate number of the RV.

About 45 minutes later, police got a call of a vehicle that was on fire on Old Lemons Mill Road. Officers and fire officials arrived to find the RV and were able to match the license plate to the collision involving the officer, May said. No one appeared to be inside the RV when it burned, he said.

Investigators also believe the vehicle could be related to a hit-and-run that was reported Saturday in Lexington, May said.

Using the license plate number, investigators learned that the owner of the RV had been out of town for several days and had left it parked in Georgetown, May said. It’s believed the vehicle was stolen, he said.

Old Lemons Mill Road was closed temporarily as officers searched for the driver of the RV and fire officials investigated the cause of the fire, May said.