Man arrested in New York for injuring Harford County deputy in chase on I-95
A man was arrested in New York Wednesday after injuring a Harford County Sheriff's deputy in a chase involving a rented truck, Sheriff Jeff Gahler said.
The driver of the Penske box truck, identified as Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta, 21, of Yonkers, New York, hit several vehicles as he led deputies on a pursuit after fleeing from an attempted traffic stop on Snake Lane in Churchville.
"This suspect did his very best to kill a police officer, and just fell short," Sheriff Gahler said.
The incident closed a section of Interstate 95 in Aberdeen for several hours Tuesday.
New York man arrested
Gahler said deputies identified Quiroz Manzueta as the suspect on Tuesday night using fingerprints that were found in the truck.
A smashed cell phone found in the truck and GPS tracking information from Penske helped police trace Quiroz Manzueta back to New York.
Gahler said Quiroz Manzueta called someone to pick him up after he fled the scene on I-95. That person drove him back to New York.
Quiroz Manzueta was arrested Wednesday morning at an apartment in New Rochelle, New York, by U.S. Marshals, Gahler said.
He was charged with attempted murder and assault on law enforcement and is now awaiting extradition back to Maryland.
Initially, on Tuesday, Gahler said a "suspicious person" was found on I-95 and was unresponsive when police attempted to talk to him.
The person was detained and taken to a hospital, but was let go after officials determined he was not involved in the chase.
Deputy injured in I-95 chase
During the chase with deputies, the box truck hit a U.S. Mail truck and a vehicle with passengers before it got on I-95 south, where officials said it was driving erratically in the wrong direction. No injuries were reported from the crashes.
"We use the word crash and we use the word accident, these were intentional acts by a criminal attempting to elude arrest," Gahler said. And there will be charges on each one of these assaults."
Maryland State Police also joined the pursuit.
The truck hit Lieutenant Robert Burgess as he was outside of his vehicle, attempting to deploy stop sticks on I-95. According to Gahler, the impact threw Burgess 65 feet into the air.
Burges was flown to Shock Trauma and was said to be alert and conscious. He is a 29-year veteran, Gahler said.
"He understands it, and we all understand very clearly, he is very lucky to be alive, and he's going to have a long road to recovery, but I'm encouraged by his good spirits, his family support around him, all things considered," Gahler said Wednesday.
An officer used a Pursuit Intervention Technique (PIT) maneuver to force the truck off the roadway in the northbound lanes of I-95 near the Maryland House exit.
Gahler said Quiroz Manzueta fled on foot down a nearby hill.
Stolen cooking oil was found inside the truck, which deputies linked to a theft at an Applebee's restaurant in Aberdeen. According to Gahler, there is a high demand for cooking oil on the black market, as it can be used in biodiesel production, animal feed manufacturing and industrial products like soaps and detergents.
Quiroz Manzueta was linked to similar thefts in other states, Gahler said.