After a tense pursuit that temporarily closed a stretch of Interstate 95, a New York man has been apprehended and faces serious charges. Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta, 21, of Yonkers, was taken into custody in New Rochelle, New York, on charges including second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault, WBALTV reported. The chase, which caused I-95 to shut down for several hours, started when Harford County Sheriff's deputies tried to stop a box truck driven by Quiroz Manzueta after he was seen driving erratically.
The incident began when Lt. Robert Burgess, a 29-year veteran of the force, observed the truck and attempted to pull it over. What followed was a dangerous sequence where the truck struck a U.S. Mail truck and another vehicle before heading onto I-95 southbound, driving in the wrong direction. The situation escalated further when Quiroz Manzueta hit Lt. Burgess, who was trying to deploy stop sticks. According to CBS News Baltimore, Burgess was flown to Shock Trauma and is currently in recovery. Sheriff Jeff Gahler expressed relief that Burgess was in good spirits, acknowledging his "long road to recovery."
Investigators linked the truck to the theft of cooking oil from an Applebee's restaurant in Aberdeen, as it was found inside the vehicle. After fleeing the truck, Quiroz Manzueta managed to elude the deputies on foot, later being picked up at a Delaware travel plaza by an accomplice. Officers were able to zero in on Quiroz Manzueta, arrested by U.S. Marshals the following morning, by piecing together information from the truck's rental agreement and the GPS technology in the vehicle.
