LAUREL, Md. — It was just after four o’clock in the morning on August 10 of last year when 21-year-old Joshua Vanderziel slammed into a flatbed truck with his motorcycle on Washington Boulevard and lost his life.
Witnesses on the scene spotted something, which caught their attention just after impact.
VIDEO: Anne Arundel County cop indicted in fatal crash
“Dashboard camera footage from the flatbed truck revealed that a dark vehicle with possible police or security markings left the scene of the crash immediately after Mr. Vanderziel crashed into the truck,” said Allison Green, the chief of the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division.
A nearly eight-month-long investigation has revealed that Anne Arundel County Police Officer Alexander Rodriguez had been involved in a high-speed chase pursuing the motorcycle for four miles stretching through Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Howard counties.
“Officer Rodriguez never turned on his emergency lights or sirens,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, “Officer Rodriguez did not radio Anne Arundel Police dispatch or get permission from a superior to chase Joshua.”
Neither the attorney general, nor his Division of Independent Investigations, will say what prompted the officer to begin chasing the motorcycle in the first place.
And his alleged failure to act following the crash also is drawing condemnation.
“He did not return to the scene,” added Brown, “He did not make a notification about the collision. He did not provide medical aid or request emergency medical assistance for the collision and he made no verbal or written report about the crash."
Vanderziel had been working as a Russian linguist for the Navy in Baltimore.
In a written statement, the Anne Arundel County Police say Officer Rodriguez had been suspended with pay during the investigation and now, facing two counts of manslaughter, he has been suspended without pay.
