Army Privates Vidar Quow, Heidi Davis, Tristan Roberts, Zackary Root and Aaron Dettling stand in front of the blue Dodge Durango that the group used while they were in pursuit of another vehicle March 19, that allegedly had just fled from a hit-and-r...
FORT MEADE, Md. -- A group of Fort Meade Soldiers helped nab an alleged hit-and-run driver last month.
Police were called to the intersection of routes 198 and 197 around 8 p.m. March 19 after a Maryland City man heading westbound in a late model Ford sedan allegedly struck two pedestrians, said Jim Collins, a spokesman for the Laurel Police.
The collision left Elda Hernandez of Laurel and the 14-year-old girl accompanying her in critical condition, Collins said. Hernandez was flown by U.S. Park Police helicopter to Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia. The 14-year-old suffered two broken legs and was flown by U.S. Park Police helicopter to Children's National Medical Center in the district in critical condition.
After the collision, the Ford sedan fled the scene, however, five Fort Meade privates -- Aaron Dettling, Vidar Quow, Zackary Root, Heidi Davis and Tristan Roberts -- pursued and apprehended the driver, police say.
The Soldiers, students at the Defense Information School, had been headed down Route 198 in Quow's 2000 Dodge Durango headed to dinner. The group heard a commotion from two cars in front of them, said Davis, who was riding in the front passenger seat.
A blown tire, or other common traffic problem was the group's guess as to what was happening, Davis said. As the Soldiers looked outside, they saw two people laying in the road. One wailed, Quow said.
As the driver in the car in front of them got out to help, the Soldiers saw a green sedan that showed signs of collision damage speeding off.
Without debate or discussion, the group decided to take action, they said. They took off after the sedan.
The group then began a 10- to 15-minute-long pursuit of the vehicle through side streets near Route 198, while the Soldiers attempted to read the driver's license plate to a 911 emergency dispatcher. At some point it seemed the fleeing driver realized he was being pursued and he sped up, ultimately returning to Route 198 headed eastbound, Root said.
"He was trying to make his way back down [Route] 198 to the Maryland City area," Collins said.
For an unknown reason, the driver of the Ford sedan dropped his speed and pulled into the parking lot of the Dutch Market near Home Depot located in the 9600 block of Fort Meade Road.
As the SUV and the sedan slowly drove through the parking lot, Quow pulled his vehicle ahead of the sedan and stopped his SUV directly in front of it. The car came to a halt.
"I was worried, but I wasn't scared," Quow said.
The Soldiers, dressed in civilian attire, climbed out of the vehicle and moved towards the sedan. At the same time, that vehicle's driver climbed out of his sedan.
"I just went into cop mode," said Root, a native of San Antonio, Texas. "I told him, 'hands on your head.'
"I patted him down and told him to sit down on the curb."
The man complied.
"He surrendered quickly," Collins said.
At this point, emergency personnel could already be seen in the distance by the party of Soldiers. Quow went to flag down help while Roberts told emergency dispatchers where they were. Dettling grabbed the keys from the sedan.
Police arrived in the parking lot and took the driver into custody. The Soldiers remained at the scene to provide statements for police.
Looking back on their actions, Dettling finds it hard to believe he would have taken the initiative to help if it hadn't been for his Army training.
"I probably would have tried to help but I don't think I would have been as stable-minded," he said.
Over the weekend, things remained fairly quiet for the Soldiers. By the following Monday, there was a number of local reporters wanting them to tell their story.
The group has had military leaders and potentially even the city of Laurel looking to recognize their actions.
Laurel is still deciding how to treat the Soldiers, but Collins, a former Army corporal who served during the conflict in Vietnam, has nothing but praise for the group.
"I know the Soldiers used good judgment and good tactics. They didn't go overboard. They didn't go hand-to-hand," he said. "I'm extremely proud of these five individuals."
The attention has been a bit hard to get used to, Roberts said.
"Anyone should have done what we did," said the 20-year-old from West Hartford, Conn.
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