Two arrested after hit-and-run crash involving police chief’s vehicle

Two people were arrested Thursday after police say the driver hit Lexington police Chief Mark Barnard’s vehicle when he tried to make a traffic stop.

The incident began at about 2:45 p.m., when narcotics officers “observed drug activity in a vehicle parked in the parking lot of the former Coba Cocina restaurant at Richmond Road and Saint Ann Drive,” said police spokeswoman Brenna Angel. “The detectives requested patrol units to make a traffic stop.”

Angel said Barnard, who was in the area and saw the vehicle being driven “recklessly,” responded to the call, activating his emergency lights to try to stop the vehicle.

The driver hit a parked car and sideswiped the police SUV the chief was driving, then left, she said.

Police found the vehicle near the Advance Auto Parts store nearby. The driver, Diane Young, 54, was found walking behind Home Depot and was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident.

A passenger, Jesse Burton, was charged with possession of a controlled substance, police Lt. Jackie Newman said.

Damage to the vehicles was relatively minor, Angel said. No one was injured.

This story was originally published February 2, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Two arrested after hit-and-run crash involving police chief’s vehicle."