SUSPECT FLEEING TROOPERS ON FOOT INJURED IN FALL

(Cabin John, MD) – A suspect involved in a hit and run crash on I-495 in Montgomery County late last night is in a hospital today due to injuries possibly sustained in the crash and later when he fell into a drainage ditch while running from state troopers who were attempting to arrest him.

The suspect is believed to be a 26-year-old Hispanic male whose address cannot be confirmed, but may be in Northern Virginia. He is not being identified at this time because criminal charges are pending against him and because police have been unable to identify and locate family members to make notification.

Shortly before 11:30 p.m. yesterday, two troopers from the Rockville Barracks responded to a call for a hit and run traffic crash that had just occurred on eastbound I-495 near River Road. The driver of the vehicle struck by the suspect was a 48-year-old woman from Greenbelt. She told responding troopers she first observed the suspect’s vehicle speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, before it struck her vehicle and caused her to go into an uncontrolled skid, then drove on north on I-495. The woman was believed to have sustained minor injuries.

A State Highway Administration employee doing work in the area directed the trooper to a damaged vehicle on the inner loop of I-495 near Bradley Boulevard with a man standing next to it. The vehicle was identified as a 2000 Toyota Echo with Virginia tags that was driven by the suspect and was involved in the hit and run.

One of the troopers pulled up to the vehicle and the man, later identified as the suspect, ran into the woods. The trooper waited for his backup trooper to arrive before both of them began searching the woods nearby. A trooper spotted the suspect hiding near some bushes on Bradley Boulevard and confronted him, ordering him to surrender. The suspect threw a bag of food at the trooper and the trooper attempted to arrest him. The suspect pulled away and took a fighting stance. In an attempt to subdue the suspect, the trooper struck him on the left bicep with his flashlight, but the suspect refused to surrender and ran into Bradley Boulevard, where he fell into the street.

The trooper caught up with the suspect and dispensed his pepper spray. The suspect again refused to surrender and ran into the woods. The trooper ran to the edge of the woods and saw that there was an abrupt drop off of about seven feet into a concrete drainage ditch. The suspect was found lying unconscious in the drainage ditch. EMS personnel were called and emergency care was administered by the troopers. The suspect was transported to Suburban Hospital where he is listed in serious, but stable condition.

State Police investigators have presented case information to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, which has approved filing charges against the suspect later in his recovery process.