Two passengers face charges after Virginia police kill driver on I-95 – NBC4 Washington

After Virginia State Police shot and killed a driver on I-95 in Northern Virginia On Wednesday evening, two passengers who were traveling with the man were charged.

State police on Friday released new details about the fatal shooting, which they said followed a carjacking, a police chase and a crash involving a suspect who flipped a police car.

Police killed the driver, Andy Ernesto Espinoza Garay, of Langham, Maryland. He was 26.

Merlin Alexander Cruz-Perdomo, 21, of Langham, and Jonathan Bonilla-Beires, 24, of Hyattsville, were charged with grand larceny. Cruz-Perdomo is in stable condition at the hospital, while Bonilla-Beires is in state custody and was not injured, police said.

The police chase began at around 10.15pm on Wednesday after an officer attempted to stop a Kia Sportage. U.S. Park Police said the SUV was reported stolen from Suitland Parkway in Maryland about half an hour ago, state police said.

In an audio recording of a police dispatch, an official says someone reportedly stopped to help a driver whose car was broken, and four people jumped into their car, drove off and began “circling.”

According to state police, the driver refused to stop and the trooper began pursuing the SUV south on I-95.

During the chase, the suspect struck a Virginia State Police vehicle, which overturned. The soldier inside was not injured.

Traffic camera video shows the Kia speeding around other vehicles with at least half a dozen police officers in hot pursuit.

The police officers warned each other that the carjacking suspect might be armed.

“I am informed that the weapon is currently unknown. Be careful,” says the official on the recording of the dispatch.

The cops finally got the driver to stop at mile marker 150, near Quantico.

“He just rammed me! He just rammed me! …I will take him out,” a representative of law enforcement agencies can be heard on the recording of the dispatch.

The driver refused police commands, according to state police.

The department said the driver “made several sudden, stealthy hand movements, prompting officers at the scene to use their service weapons.”

“Shots! Shots!” someone can be heard shouting on the dispatch audio.

Espinoza Garay was shot and died at the scene, state police said. Police said he was wearing a ski mask.

Four servicemen involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Investigators will turn the information over to the Prince William County District Attorney, state police said.