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Two people are dead and a third is hurt after a police chase Tuesday afternoon crossed through multiple jurisdictions and ended when the vehicle being pursued crashed and went up in flames along Southeast D.C.’s border with Maryland.
Police said officers were pursuing the vehicle because they believed it had been involved in multiple armed robberies throughout the D.C. region, most recently in Prince George’s County.
The crash happened in the 4100 block of Southern Avenue just before 1 p.m. Two people inside the vehicle died at the scene and a third was taken to the hospital in the custody of D.C. police. That person’s injuries are not considered to be life-threatening.
The police investigation closed off Southern Avenue between 36th Place and Fort Dupont Street, according to D.C. police.
It all started around 12:15 p.m. when Anne Arundel County officers patrolling in Annapolis spotted a white BMW on Bestgate Road with tags that matched the description of a vehicle used in multiple armed robberies, Anne Arundel County police Chief Amal Awad said during a news conference after the crash.
The vehicle sped away from police on westbound Route 50 and Anne Arundel County officers followed it to Prince George’s County. The police department tapped on neighboring jurisdictions, including the U.S. Park Police aviation unit, for help pursuing the vehicle.
A U.S. Park Police officer saw the BMW traveling in D.C. and pursued it.
“The vehicle was moving at a high rate of speed, it crested a hill, immediately slammed into a tree, and erupted into flames,” said U.S. Park Police Chief Jessica Taylor. “It was set on fire.”
A firearm was also recovered from the scene that police believe was tossed out of the suspect vehicle.
When asked why officers pursued the vehicle, Awad said, “Anytime a vehicle is involved in a felonious criminal act, our officers are authorized to pursue and I fully support our officers in their decisions that they make in these instances.”
Earlier, D.C. Fire and EMS had posted on social media referring to two vehicles on fire at the scene of the crash. At a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, police did not mention a possible second vehicle that caught fire. WTOP has reached out to officials for clarification.
WTOP’s Ana Golden contributed to this report.
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