The Independent Investigations Division of the Maryland Office of the Attorney General on Thursday released body-worn and dashboard camera footage of a police chase that led to a fatal crash in Eldersburg last month.
The fatal head-on collision on Liberty Road on April 20 was captured by a camera worn by Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Kyle Hessler and by a dashboard camera in his police cruiser.
According to an April 21 news release, a Carroll County sheriff’s deputy near the intersection of Liberty and Ridge roads in Eldersburg saw a car speeding around 11:30 p.m. and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver fled. About a mile away, the driver crossed into oncoming traffic on Liberty Road and crashed into an SUV, the release said.
Kayla Rodriguez-Garcia, 22, of Randallstown, the driver of the SUV, was killed in the crash. Rodriguez-Garcia had one passenger in her car, who suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the vehicle that fled the police checkpoint has not been identified by police.
The dash camera footage shows Hessler coming to a stop after he sees that the vehicle he was chasing has crashed. The images show a dark, wide tire track on the road.
Hessler radios the other police about the collision and approaches the vehicle he is pursuing with his firearm drawn, ordering the male driver to put his hands up.
The images show that the front and driver’s side of the car were damaged in the collision. Hessler tries to open the locked rear door on the driver’s side before going to the passenger side window to talk to the driver. Holding a flashlight and a handgun, Hessler confirmed the suspect was not in critical condition and had no weapons in the vehicle. The driver has blood on him and an injured leg, Hessler notes, and he orders the man to stay seated and stay awake while he retrieves a medical kit from his police car.
In the footage, immediately after the officer retrieves the equipment, he is approached by a man wearing jeans, white shoes and a gray shirt and carrying a flashlight. The man tells Hessler that the driver of the second vehicle is trapped in her car and that it has started smoking.
The footage shows Hessler walking to the second vehicle with a flashlight and a medical kit in his hand. Witnesses to the crash attempt to free Rodriguez-Garcia’s body from her vehicle.
The Attorney General’s Office’s Independent Investigations Unit, which investigates fatal encounters with police in Maryland, continues to investigate the police pursuit that led to the fatal collision, the news release said.
