Police chase ends in crash, 1 hurt

After a brief police chase, a woman was severely injured in a three-vehicle accident on Monday afternoon and was flown to the hospital, according to authorities. Police are still searching for the driver who fled the crash on foot after he reportedly sped away from a traffic stop and crashed into a dump truck at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Mattawoman Drive in Waldorf.

The 19-year-old woman from Indian Head, who had been a pas- senger in the suspect vehicle at the time of the crash, is now said to be in stable condition.

The driver, 23, has been identified by investigators, but they have not released his name, and he remains at large.

Around 12:20 p.m. on Monday, an employee at a business in the St. Charles Towne Center called 911 to report a theft, a Charles County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said. A description of the car the suspects were seen leaving the mall in was broadcast to police, and shortly after a nearby officer spot- ted a burgundy Nissan Maxima driving through multiple stop signs on Mall Circle. After catching up to the car near U.S. 301 and St. Pat- rick’s Drive, the officer pulled the car over and observed three occupants, two men and a woman, and noticed a bag inside the car that appeared to be from the business that had reported the theft.

As the officer secured the back- seat passenger, Deonte Charles Bush, 19, of Indian Head, the wom- an who had been driving the car climbed into the backseat, while the front seat passenger slid into the driver’s seat and sped off.

Another officer who had just ar- rived on scene pursued them brief- ly as the suspect vehicle made a U-turn and drove northbound on U.S. 301 at a high rate of speed, but the deputy stopped chasing the car near the intersection of Acton Lane, called off the pursuit by a supervi- sor, police said.

After reportedly speeding down U.S. 301 for almost 2 miles, the Max- ima collided into a dump truck that had been turning onto Mattawoman Drive from southbound U.S. 301, ac- cording to police. The driver’s side of the Maxima was crumpled by the impact, and struck a Honda sedan that had been turning. The woman in the backseat of the Maxima was critically injured in the crash, and the man who had been driving ran away from the scene.

When officers arrived on the scene, an off-duty medic was tending to the woman’s injuries, authorities said. Police assisted the medic until she was taken across the intersection of U.S. 301 in an ambulance and transferred into a helicopter which flew her to a hospital.

K9 units and deputies could be seen searching for the man nearby while other officers secured the crash site and regulated the flow of traffic.

As of press time Tuesday, the 23-year-old man who had been driving had not yet been apprehended, and the 19-year-old woman was listed in stable condition, according to police. The third occupant of the car who had been detained during the initial traffic stop, Bush, was issued a civil citation with possession of marijuana under 10 grams. The reported theft is still under investigation.