Police chase in Maryland involving stolen state truck; man arrested

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Maryland State Police (MSP) said it arrested a man who stole a state-owned truck Friday afternoon, led police on a chase across two counties, and left a trail of damage in his wake.

MSP said troopers around 5 p.m., troopers received word of a hit-and-run crash involving four vehicles at the inner loop of Interstate-495 at the Greenbelt Metro Station. Troopers sad the driver of one of the vehicles, a Ford pickup truck, is the one who left the scene, and that he drove into the I-495/I-95 Park and Ride lot where the Ford went off the road and hit a guard rail.

A Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) State Highway Administration (SHA) CHART truck responded to the scene and checked on the driver of the Ford. (CHART stands for Coordinated Highways Action Response Team.)

Capt. Brian Smith with Maryland State Police said the SHA truck operator got out of it to make sure the driver of the Ford was alright. The driver of the Ford, who had gotten out of his own truck, jumped into the SHA truck, and drove off.

MSP said troopers tried to stop him on the outer loop of I-495, but they said he hit two vehicles and left.

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At about 5:50 p.m., troopers found the stolen SHA truck near Briggs Chaney Road at Greenmount Road in Calverton, Md. They said the driver went into a parking lot off of Beltsville Road at Calverton Road with it, ran off the road, and hit a pole attached to a power line. Investigators said the driver rammed a Maryland State Police vehicle and several civilian vehicles before he drove onto Priscilla Road in Montgomery County.

MSP troopers and Montgomery County police officers captured him at about 6:30 p.m. after the SHA truck became disabled in the 10700 block of Columbia Pike in White Oak. Police took him into custody. No one else was with him.

Maryland State Police said it appeared, in all, the driver of the stolen SHA truck hit 13 vehicles. A state trooper, a Montgomery County police officer, and a civilian were hurt in the course of it. All three went to the hospital for treatment.

The driver of the stolen truck also was taken to the hospital for injuries.

As of Saturday morning, Maryland State Police had not identified the man accused of stealing the SHA truck. He was at Suburban Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Charges were pending and included vehicle theft and first-degree assault.

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