Landover, Md. – On Thursday night, a Prince George’s County Police officer saw a sports utility vehicle without its head lights on Branch Avenue in Temple Hills. The officer pulled over the SUV and ran the plates, which came up unregistered.
Two other patrol cars arrived to help and the patrolman walked to the car. Behind the wheel was 22-year-old Larry Donnell Hinson of Southeast D.C. Hinson didn’t have an ID to show the officer.
Noticing the SUV wasn’t in park, the officer asked Hinson to put it in park. That’s when police say Hinson sped off.
“The driver turns the vehicle’s wheel hard to the left and accelerates away, striking our officer on his right side,” said Hank Stawinski, deputy chief of the bureau of patrol for the Prince George’s County Police Department. The officer suffered minor injuries to the leg and shoulder.
Stawinski says the officers on the scene gave chase but were soon stuck in traffic a short distance down the road. “Our policy requires them to either slow down or stop before entering an intersection,” he said.
When they caught up, police say they discovered that Hinson had struck another car, which sent the stolen vehicle over the median and into oncoming traffic, causing several accidents. In one of the crashes, 60-year-old Charlie Viverett of Clinton was killed. No one else was badly hurt.
According to Stawinski, Hinson made a run for it on foot, scaling a fence at the Naylor Street Metro Station, but was found a half hour later hiding under a car. He was arrested.
Hinson was charged with first and second degree assault on the police officer along with several other charges. Stawinski says as the investigation continues, Hinson could face additional charges.
“His flagrant and disregard for the safety of the public and officers puts us in a perspective that he need not be roaming the streets,” Stawinksi said.
Hinson has an extensive criminal background, according to police, and is currently on probation for armed carjacking.
