Maryland man arrested after ramming bus near BWI and subsequent high-speed police chase

On October 19, Maryland State Police reported that they arrested a man suspected of ramming a BWI airport shuttle bus with his vehicle.  Troopers said that the same suspect then led police on an early-morning car chase on Friday throughout Anne Arundel County.

Shortly after 2:45 a.m. on Friday morning, troopers from the Glen Burnie Barrack responded to a call from a passenger who stated that a shuttle bus was rammed by a van driven by a man who was also suspected of waving a hand gun at the vehicle in the area of I-295 South at West Nursery Road. Troopers from the Glen Burnie Barrack located the vehicle near I-295 South at I-195 East, very close to the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

According to a preliminary report, the shuttle van stopped at the airport while the van continued forward. The van got onto southbound I-97 reaching speeds of approximately 115-120 mph. Troopers from Annapolis Barrack were also dispatched to assist with this incident.

A trooper from the Annapolis Barrack positioned in the area of southbound I-97 and Farm Road successfully deployed stop sticks puncturing the right front tire of the van.

Even with his tires blown out, the driver of the van continued along I-97, still reaching speeds of approximately 60 mph. The van then continued to eastbound Route 50 before exiting onto Rowe Boulevard in Annapolis.

The pursuit continued throughout the city of Annapolis stopping at a dead-end road on the grounds of the Naval Academy. At that time, troopers from the Glen Burnie and Annapolis barracks conducted a felony stop on the vehicle.

The suspect, Pete Sommerfeldt, 48, of Nottingham, Maryland, was arrested without incident.

Troopers from the Annapolis and Glen Burnie barracks checked the areas of the highway where Sommerfeldt may have thrown out the hand gun, but nothing has been located at this time. Sommerfeldt was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center, where he is undergoing an examination. Multiple traffic and criminal charges are pending following his release from the hospital.

There were no injuries reported as a result of this incident. The incident remains under investigation.

(Source: Maryland State Police)

~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter