A Washington man who led law enforcement on a two-county chase pleaded guilty to one count of felony flee to elude arrest in Beaufort County Superior Court Tuesday.

The arrangement with the state required Troy Wayne Beacham, 46, to plead guilty to the crime. In exchange, all other charges against Beacham were dropped: driving while impaired, no operators license, reckless driving, no insurance, fictitious tags, open container in passenger area, resisting a public officer, driving left of center and failure to stop at a stoplight.

According to Assistant District Attorney Ray Cameron, one of the reasons for the plea deal is the state lab has yet to return Beacham’s toxicology results, though the incident took place over two years ago.

Cameron summarized the case for Superior Court Judge Wayland Sermons Jr.: on May 12, 2011, Investigator Jim Martin with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office heard an accident at the intersection of U.S. Highway 264 East and Braddy Road, but when he attempted to investigate the single-car accident, the driver of the minivan — Beacham — drove away. According to Martin, Beacham refused to pull over as he headed east on U.S. 264. Officers told Sermons the chase speed varied from 45 mph to 110 mph, as more law enforcement became involved: North Carolina State Highway Patrol troopers, more sheriff’s office deputies and Belhaven Police Chief F.P. Clingenpeel. Cameron told Sermons Beacham would increase and decrease speed, and slam on brakes, attempting to get officers to run into his vehicle.

“During the chase, he would actually play ‘chicken’ with oncoming traffic,” Martin said. “Those cars were having to swerve off the side of the road.”

Since the chase was taking place during the morning hours, two of those vehicles were school buses filled with children on their way to school.

The chase finally ended at the top of the Walter B. Jones Memorial Bridge in Hyde County when Beacham’s minivan hit another minivan, carrying a grandmother and her two grandchildren, head-on, Cameron said. Beacham was running for the side of the bridge, as if to jump, when he was stopped by Deputy Zach Martin, witnesses said.

But according to Beacham’s defense attorney Laura Gibson, Beacham believes he was drugged the night before the incident, which is why he was hesitant to accept the plea deal offered by the state: he wanted the toxicology results back. Gibson said Beacham has no memory of the incident — one moment he was drinking Gatorade, the next he was waking up in custody — and had to be told what happened. Gibson pointed out to Sermons that Beacham has a steady work and home environment and was ready to participate in any treatment program, submit to house arrest, and more if he received a suspended sentence.

Sermons, however, responded that in light of the Beacham’s involuntary manslaughter conviction 25 years ago for a DWI accident that killed two people, he could not be lenient.

“I’m sending you to prison,” Sermons said. “I hate to do this since I know your brother, but you could have killed people … Maybe you can learn something in DOC this time. I can’t, in good conscience, put you on probation.”

Sermons sentenced Beacham to a minimum of 10 months, a maximum of 12 months in prison, in keeping with Beacham’s six prior record level points, and a complete psychological assessment and treatment to go along with it.