Maryland police chase suspect arrested after stealing tow truck

BETHESDA - Maryland State Police announced Saturday the arrest of a man suspected of stealing a Maryland State Highway Administration vehicle and leading police on a pursuit from Prince George's County to Montgomery County for nearly an hour Friday night. 

On Friday night before 5:00 p.m., troopers responded to a hit-and-run crash involving four vehicles on I-495. 

One of the drivers, who was driving a Ford Ranger, fled the scene of the crash into the I-495/I-95 Park and Ride lot where he struck a guard rail. The driver has been identified as Flavio Cesar Lanuza, 27, of Laurel, Maryland. 

When a Maryland State Highway Administration vehicle came to check on Lanuza, he got out of his Ford and stole the other vehicle and fled. 

Lanuza is accused of barreling through cars on busy streets and driving through electrical wires in a grassy field. At one point during the chase, the truck collided with several police cruisers near southbound Route 29 in the area of Prelude Drive.

Maryland State Police and Montgomery County Police captured the suspect at about 6:30 p.m. after his vehicle became disabled in the 10700 block of Columbia Pike in Silver Spring, Maryland. Lanuza was arrested at the scene and taken to the hospital for treatment. 

Charges are pending for Lanuza, including vehicle theft and first-degree assault.

The case remains under investigation.