5 Prince George’s Co. police officers suspended after fatal car chase kills 2

Five officers representing Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland are suspended after their pursuit in a car chase led to the death of two people on Thursday.

Officers arrived at a gas station in the 7500 block of Old Branch Avenue in Clinton at approximately 4:45 p.m. Thursday for a disorderly call, said Prince George’s County police.

According to the preliminary police investigation, the gas station clerk called the police, believing that people inside an SUV at the gas pumps acted in “an unusual manner.”

A patrol officer responded to the scene and briefly spoke to everyone in the car before they drove off and a car chase began.

Police said the 6.7 mile pursuit ended when the SUV crashed into two utility poles on Old Branch Avenue near Tarquin Avenue in Temple Hills.

The driver of the vehicle was Lynda Ann Jones, 62, of Capitol Heights, and she was accompanied by her son, Richard Sylvester Jones, 42, also of Capitol Heights.

Police said the officers will remain suspended pending an outcome of the investigation.

The Internal Affairs Division will be investigating the officers’ actions during the chase while the Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit plans to review the deadly crash.

Investigators are asking anyone who has information about the incident to call the Internal Affairs Division at 301-516-5721.

Below is a map of where the deadly car chase began.

José Umaña

José Umaña is a digital editor for WTOP. He’s been working as a journalist for almost a decade, covering local news, education and sports. His work has appeared in The Prince George’s Sentinel, The Montgomery Sentinel, Orlando Sentinel, PressBox and The Diamondback.

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