Police Identify Man Killed In Crash During Pursuit
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- An SUV of high school football players was hit by a car that was fleeing from police. The suspect was killed and several others were sent to the hospital.
Monique Griego has more on the pursuit and why the victims are questioning police policy.
The players believe the accident should never have happened.
"I saw the car coming down, like zooming down," said Jaquan Holt.
These Dunbar High School football players only had seconds to react when a car fleeing police crashed into their SUV as they were heading home from a Friday night game.
Two of the players were knocked unconscious.
"We thought they was gone. We thought they was dead. We just kept saying, `Wake up, please just wake up,'" said Doremain Willett.
The pursuit started after police say drug officers spotted a suspicious vehicle.
"The officers put on their lights and sirens and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle did not stop," said Anthony Guglielmi, Baltimore City Police.
The suspect was heading the wrong way down a one way street when it then collided with the players at Broadway and Biddle.
"They were going, like, 90 plus, had to have been, because if he hit us that hard, spinned our whole truck around, then kept going up a half a block, he had to have been going fast," said Kyre Hawkins.
Police say after hitting the players, the suspect's car ended up crashing into a tree, killing him and severely injuring a passenger.
The suspect killed was identified as Tabbit Christian Sydney of East Baltimore. Police say they found a handgun and two replica guns inside his vehicle.
While all the players are expected to be OK, they're upset, saying officers broke the department's no pursuit policy.
"He was chasing him. There's no way in the world he wasn't," said Hawkins.
But police say there are exceptions to the rule. Investigators are looking at all the circumstances surrounding the crash.
"How fast they were going, if the lights and sirens were used and all of that," Guglielmi said.
Several of the players suffered neck and back injuries. All of them have since been released from the hospital.
The passenger in the suspect's vehicle is also listed in stable condition. He will be facing charges for the incident.
