Virginia State Police said a man driving a stolen Freightliner tractor led troopers on a chase Thursday afternoon on Interstate 81 from Botetourt to Rockbridge counties.

Thomas Kenneth Bowen, 20, of Pierce County, Ga., was charged with reckless driving, felony attempting to elude police and grand larceny, said Sgt. Rob Carpentieri, a state police spokesman.

Shortly before 5 p.m., a trooper on I-81 North near the Brughs Mill Road exit tried to stop the 2007 Freightliner because the vehicle was traveling over the posted speed limit, Carpentieri said. The vehicle was registered to Eunice Transport, also of Pierce County, and had been reported stolen.

A trooper laid out spike strips about 22 miles north between the Natural Bridge exits, and after the tractor drove over them, it ran off the right side of the highway and down a 50-foot embankment, Carpentieri said.

Bowen fled on foot and was arrested by troopers, Carpentieri said.

The tractor was not connected to a trailer, and there were no other occupants or injuries reported in the incident.