Deputy seriously injured by box truck carrying stolen cooking oil from Applebee’s, police say
Investigators released a man who they were questioning in connection with an incident that seriously injured an deputy and closed both directions of Interstate 95 for hours Tuesday, according to the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office said a deputy was injured late Tuesday morning and that a man who was being questioned has since been released. The sheriff said the deputy was conscious and alert at the hospital and interacting with his family.
The man who police were questioning was walking alongside I-95 as police were investigating the incident. The man was not responding to officers trying to talk to him, officials said.
A sheriff’s representative said the investigation continues in an effort to identify the individual driving the box truck.
What led to the investigation
Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said Lt. Robert Burgess, a 29-year veteran, was in an unmarked vehicle around 11:25 a.m. when he observed a box truck driving erratically. The driver fled when Burgess tried to conduct a traffic stop.
The truck was then involved in two crashes, Gahler said. There were no injuries from either crash. The first crash involved a U.S. mail truck and the second involved several other cars.
The box truck driver then entered I-95, at which point Maryland State Police and other agencies joined the pursuit.
The sheriff said the driver went the wrong way in the southbound lanes and that Burgess was seriously injured when he got out of his vehicle to deploy stop sticks in an effort to bring the truck to a halt.
Video below: Officials provide update after deputy seriously injured along I-95
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The driver fled the box truck and a lookout was given for a person walking on the shoulder of the highway. An officer found a man walking on the highway, but the man was unresponsive. Authorities then took the man to a hospital, Gahler said.
What was in the truck?
SkyTeam 11 video showed the box truck crashed in the woods alongside the highway. Inside the rental truck was a container of cooking oil that Gahler said investigators linked to a theft at an Applebee’s in Aberdeen.
“We’ve had this before, we’ve made arrests on this before,” Gahler said. “Apparently, it is profitable to some criminals to go to businesses and steal their used cooking oil, and they can sell that for cash.”
Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly released a statement, saying:
“Harford County is grateful for the heroic actions of the sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers who surely saved lives today. Lt. Burgess’ family is with him at the hospital, where I thanked them for his selfless dedication. We are praying for his full recovery. I would like to thank all the allied public safety agencies involved for their professional response to this potentially deadly incident.”
I-95 closed for hours
Extensive police activity shut down I-95 between the Havre de Grace exit and the Maryland House rest area, the sheriff said.
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Southbound I-95 traffic coming off of the Tydings Bridge was immediately diverted in Havre de Grace onto Maryland Route 155\Level Road, while northbound I-95 traffic was diverted in Belcamp at the Maryland Route 543\Riverside Parkway exit. At the onset of the investigation, CHART cameras in the area showed traffic at a standstill approaching the scene.
All southbound lanes reopened by about 2:50 p.m. and all northbound lanes reopened almost an hour thereafter, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.
What witnesses told 11 News they saw
John Loucks works in the area and was about to eat lunch when he said he saw part of the chase.
“We noticed that the flashers are on the truck when he comes around the corner. The next thing you know, he swerves over to the oncoming traffic, and (another driver) tried to swerve around him, and ended up hitting the rear and (that) spun him around,” Loucks told 11 News.
Loucks said others tried to help the victim in the other vehicle after the box truck sped off.
“(They) ran over to help the guy, and, thank goodness, he wasn’t really hurt that bad,” Loucks told 11 News. “He was disheveled. There was a bunch of other bystanders that pulled up along the side of the road and tried to give assistance.”
2 in custody after deadly crash involving stolen SUV in Philadelphia’s East Oak Lane section
By6abc Digital Staff, Maggie Kent, and Amanda Pitts 
Wednesday, October 15, 2025
A driver in a stolen SUV lost control, hitting parked vehicles and then smashing into a car at an intersection, killing the other driver.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Two people are in custody after a driver in a stolen vehicle slammed into several cars in Philadelphia’s East Oak Lane section, killing one person.
The crash happened just before 11 p.m. on Tuesday at the intersection of N 2nd Street and Cheltenham Avenue.
Investigators say the driver of a stolen Dodge Durango was speeding through the area when the vehicle hit several parked cars before colliding with a Hyundai Sonata at the intersection.
Susan, who lives at that intersection, heard the crash, the crush of metal and the aftermath that soon followed.
“It was a powerful accident, you could tell. With the windows closed, you could tell,” she said.
The high speed impact left mangled metal strewn across the intersection which divides Cheltenham Township and Philadelphia.
The driver inside the Sonata was pronounced dead at the scene. Another person inside a black Chevy Tahoe was injured in the crash.
“I heard the crash and I heard helicopters and I didn’t hear any screaming, so I knew it must have been somebody dying immediately. And I saw a lot of policemen with guns,” said Susan.
Philadelphia police say the Durango had been reported stolen prior to the crash. They arrested the driver and a passenger inside the SUV.
“There’s so much speeding going on. It’s just very dangerous,” said Susan.
Both Philadelphia police and crash investigators remained at the scene for hours overnight, collecting debris and reviewing nearby surveillance footage.
Police have not released the identity of the driver who was killed.
No charges have been filed against the driver and passenger in the Dodge Durango.
NYPD fatally shoots man after stolen car nearly hits officer in Brooklyn, police say
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Phil Taitt reports on the story from Brooklyn.
EAST NEW YORK, Brooklyn (WABC) — Police in Brooklyn have shot and killed a man allegedly driving a stolen vehicle and nearly hit an officer on Tuesday night, NYPD said.
Investigators said the 28-year-old man was driving a stolen Porsche near Bay Eighth Street and the Belt Parkway in East New York just after 8 p.m.
Officials say the incident occurred as the NYPD Community Response Team was searching for stolen vehicles.
Officers say they ran the license plates on the Porsche after they appeared to be suspicious. The NYPD says they attempted to pull the car over, but the driver fled eastbound on the Belt Parkway.
According to police, instead of chasing the car, they dispatched other officers who then set up roadblocks several exits away. That’s when police tried to intercept the car, but the driver swerved off the roadway onto a service road in the direction of officers and the roadblock.
The NYPD says an officer who was nearly struck by the car fired a single shot, striking the driver.
Police say the officer who shot the suspect is OK.
Officers say the car then travelled to another exit before hitting a department vehicle. The driver was pulled from the car and taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he later died.
At least one passenger in the stolen vehicle was taken into police custody following the shooting. Charges have not been filed against that person.
Police say the 28-year-old driver was on federal probation for stealing vehicles and interstate transport of stolen vehicles in Pennsylvania.
Residents told Eyewitness News they were shocked by the shooting.
“It’s insane, this is the first time something like this has happened here,” said resident Doris Isakov. “I’ve lived here for six years and never seen anything like this. It’s insane. I’ve never seen so many cops in one spot.”
Isakov told Eyewitness News that most residents park in garages, so they don’t fear their vehicles being stolen.
The Belt Parkway was closed during the investigation, and officials warned of traffic delays in both directions on the Belt Parkway near Pennsylvania Avenue.
