Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta

By Zak Failla From Daily Voice

A 21-year-old man who was arrested in New York a day after seriously injuring a veteran sheriff's deputy in Maryland during a wild chase has been brought back to the state to face charges, authorities announced.

Yonkers resident Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta has been identified and arrested as the driver of a Penske box truck that struck and critically injured Lt. Rob Burgess, a 29-year member of the Harford County Sheriff's Office assigned to the Community Policing Division on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Harford County State's Attorney's Office, Quiroz Manzueta was extradited from New York back to Maryland, where he was charged by a grand jury with:

  • Attempted first-degree murder;
  • Second-degree burglary;
  • Hit-and-run causing serious bodily injury;
  • "Various related offenses in connection with the incident." 
Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta

Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta

Harford County Sheriff

He was indicted on Wednesday, Nov. 12.

"Our prayers are with the family, and we're thanking the community for their support. We've been at the scene, and we're very fortunate we're not talking about a police officer fatality today by God’s good grace," Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said after the crash.

The wild ride began shortly before 11:30 a.m. when Burgess spotted the Penske truck driving erratically in the Churchville area, he said. Quiroz Manzueta then fled without showing any indication of stopping.

According to Gahler, the Penske truck was "almost immediately" involved in a crash with a USPS truck, then struck a truck with multiple passengers inside and continued onto I-95, driving south in the northbound lanes.

Multiple other vehicles were struck during that pursuit, as the MTA and Maryland State Police joined the chase.

Gahler said that Burgess was attempting to lay down stop sticks to halt the truck, though the driver intentionally swerved to avoid them and struck the lieutenant, who was on foot at the time.

Ultimately, the sheriff said, another deputy used his vehicle to force the Penske truck off the road, but Quiroz Manzueta managed to escape before deputies reached the wreckage.

Gahler said that a "suspicious person" was taken into custody near the scene. It is unclear if he had any connection to the Penske pursuit.

That person was later released after being interviewed. 

Quiroz Manzueta was identified as a suspect, and he was taken into custody by members of the US Marshals Service in New York.

Burgess was airlifted by a state police helicopter to Shock Trauma, where Gahler said he was conscious, interacting with family, and undergoing medical checkups as of Tuesday afternoon.

"From the impact and distance he was thrown... I say again, we're blessed not to be sitting here talking about a fatal incident," the sheriff added.

A smashed cell phone found in the truck and GPS tracking information from Penske helped police trace Quiroz Manzueta back to New York.

Gahler said Quiroz Manzueta called someone to pick him up after he fled the scene on I-95. That person drove him back to New York, where he was arrested in New Rochelle.

Quiroz Manzueta is now being held at the Harford County Detention Center pending his trial, which has not been set.