VIDEO: Driver of stolen MDOT tow truck smashes more than a dozen vehicles during Maryland chase
A man was arrested for stealing a Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration vehicle and leading police on a multiple-county pursuit while striking more than a dozen vehicles Friday evening.
Flavio Cesar Lanuza, 27, from Laurel, Maryland, was arrested at the scene and taken to the hospital for treatment. Charges are pending, including vehicle theft and first-degree assault, according to Maryland State Police.
Troopers initially responded around 5 p.m. to a hit-and-run crash involving four vehicles at the inner loop of I-495 at the Greenbelt Metro Station.
Investigators said the driver of a Ford went off the road and struck a guard rail at the I-495/I-95 Park and Ride.
A SHA CHART vehicle responded to the scene and checked the welfare of the driver of the Ford. The driver, identified as Lanuza, got out of his vehicle and stole the SHA vehicle," trooper said.
The driver of a stolen tow truck led police on a chase through Prince George's and Montgomery counties, using the vehicle to break through a barricade of law enforcement vehicles and ram private cars that got in its way.
During the pursuit the suspect struck power lines as well as multiple vehicles on southbound Route 29 before coming to a stop in a wooded area on the side of the road on Columbia Park in Silver Spring.
Officers smashed the vehicle's windows and pulled the driver out, helicopter footage from WUSA-TV shows.
Troopers said Lanuza is alleged to have struck 13 vehicles, which led to a civilian and two law enforcement members, a Maryland state trooper and a Montgomery County Police officer, being taken to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries.
Here's a breakdown of crashes the driver caused (according to WUSA9):
- Near the Exxon gas station at Cherry Hill and Route 29
- Tow truck driver strikes police vehicle
- Police vehicle hits civilian vehicle as a result
- Near Cherry Hill and Prosperity
- Tow truck driver side swipes civilian vehicle
- Near Tech Road and Route 29
- Three civilian vehicles hit
- Near Old Columbia Pike and Tech Road
- One civilian vehicle hit
- Near Columbia Pike at Carroll Motor Fuels
- Four civilian cars hit
The Associated Press contributed to this story
