Bodycam shows a pursuit of a shooting suspect crashing into another vehicle, killing the driver
By: A suspect is in custody after police said he was involved in an alleged shooting and a crash not far from Joint Base Andrews on Sunday afternoon, the Prince George’s County Police Department said.
Dispatchers got a call around 1:40 p.m. from a person who told them someone was shooting at their car on Suitland Parkway. Prince George's County police said that call was disconnected.
Thomas Lester with the Office of the Attorney General said Morningside Police officers were in the area of Suitland Road when they spotted a BMW that matched the description of the car described during the 911 call.
Lester said Morningside Police officers pursued the BMW before he crashed into a silver Ford sedan at the intersection of Suitland Road and Allentown Road.
"The driver of that vehicle lost control, struck a curb, striking a second vehicle traveling north on Allentown Road. The driver fled on foot and was later apprehended by Morningside Police," Lester told reporters.
Lester said the alleged shooter was also injured during the crash and was treated at a nearby hospital.
Investigators said the people inside the silver car were just innocent bystanders. The man driving the Ford received life-threatening injuries, and two young passengers were also taken to a hospital and released hours later.
The critically injured driver died days later. He has been identified as 44-year-old Rogelio Sánchez Gomez of Suitland, Maryland.
Warren Johnson is an accident analyst with more than 30 years of experience who said he was intrigued when he noticed the scene had not been cleared after seven hours.
"I have never seen this long in terms of wrapping up a scene of an accident," Johnson said. He said he has no doubt the driver of the BMW was speeding.
The Office of the Attorney General was on scene because police were involved in the pursuit and because of the gravity of the crash.
Lester said Morningside Police cars did not have dash cams, but the officers were wearing body-worn cameras. It's still unclear if those were on during the pursuit.
A weapon was recovered at the scene.