No prisoners: Truck hijacking, four-hour standoff ends with two dead bad guys and one very alive hostage

MADISON COUNTY, OH – Members of the London Police Department and the Ohio State Highway Patrol spent four hours negotiating with the two suspects and a truck driver they held hostage late Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. These negotiations came after almost two hours of police pursuit of a semi and trailer hijacked by the suspects after fleeing from London police.

It all started around 1:00 am when an officer in London initiated a routine traffic stop. According to CBS affiliate 10 WBNS, a minivan was pulled over for no taillights and a non-visible registration. In a statement, the LPD said that the driver provided the officer with false information, saying their names were Ronald and Barbara Taylor. The female passenger stated they were on there back from the emergency room where they had to go after she poked herself in the eye.  

The driver told police that he did not have his driver’s license or know his social security number. There were also no temporary tags on the vehicle. As the officer returned to his vehicle to run the names throught the national system, the van’s engine could be heard turning on. As the officer turned around and approached the vehicle for a second time, the couple drove away from the scene.

After a short drive, they pulled into a gas station and left the van. Running across the parking lot in pursuit, the officer attempted to deploy a taser. Police did not say if it was a successful attempt. One of the suspects did fall to the ground, at which point they produced a weapon. They did not fire a shot, however.

The officer appears to have sought cover behind a vehicle. Dash and body camera footage can be seen below. Both suspects, a 54-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, ran to a semi with a driver inside. The truck then pulled out of the parking lot, striking a patrol car in the process. No officers reported injuries.

At that point, the truck led law enforcement on a chase that covered more than 50 miles from Madison County to Dayton. Attempts to deploy spike strips were unsuccessful. The chase ended more than two hours later (around 3:30 am), on I-70 near the Dayton International Airport, according to OSHP Lt. Nathan Dennis.

It was at this point that the negotiations began. Police have not detailed the specific conversations that happened as part of those negotiations, but it was clear that they were not going to release their hostage, the driver of the truck.

At approximately 7:30 am, members of the OSHP Special Response Team approached the front of the big rig in an effort to remove the driver from the vehicle and get him to safety. Lt. Dennis stated that as the officers approached the front, one of the suspects opened fire. It was not clear if it was the man or the woman.

Officers returned fire through the windshield of the truck and struck each suspect at least once.
At that point, the driver exited the vehicle and was taken to a safe location by state troopers. He was transferred to Miami Valley Hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. It is unknown if those injuries were gunshot wounds.

The exchange of gunfire brought the standoff to an end, and both suspects were taken into custody.
The female died in route to the hospital and was pronounced dead on arrival. The male was hospitalized and treated for life-threatening injuries. He did not survive.

No members of law enforcement were injured in the exchange of gunfire. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is looking into the shooting.


 
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