Horrifying moment when driver in stolen car flees police, crashes into another car at an intersection and causes a building to collapse – killing a pedestrian and injuring five others
- Shawn Lee Brunson, the driver of the stolen vehicle, was arrested and charged
- Alfred Fincher, 54, died after being buried in the rubble
- Five other people, including two in the stolen car, were injured and taken to hospital
New video shows the moment a man in a stolen vehicle on the run from police crashed into another vehicle at a Baltimore intersection last month, causing a building to collapse.
The February 8 crash toppled the abandoned brick building, killing a pedestrian and injuring five other people.
Shawn Lee Brunson, 33, the driver of a stolen 2017 Hyundai Sonata, was arrested Feb. 7 in Baltimore and charged with stealing the vehicle. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office this week released footage of the shocking crash, which occurred the following day.
The chase began after Baltimore police noticed and tried to investigate the stolen car near East North Avenue, but the driver took off.
During the chase, the driver hit another car causing both vehicles to crash into the structure.
Alfred Fincher, 54, a pedestrian who was on the street at the time of the crash, was buried under the falling debris. Five other people, including two in the stolen car, were also injured and taken to hospital.
The chase began after Baltimore police noticed and tried to investigate the stolen car near East North Avenue, but the driver took off.
Shawn Lee Brunson, 33, the driver of the stolen Hyundai Sonata, was arrested and charged with stealing the vehicle. The Attorney General of Maryland released the shocking crash footage on Thursday
The officers – whose names have not been released – who were involved in the chase are now being investigated by the Independent Investigation Division of the Attorney General’s Office. CBS news.
The agency was established in 2021 to investigate all police fatalities in the state of Maryland.
The Independent Investigations Division of the Office of Attorney General division has released body-worn CCTV footage of the police response, as well as surveillance footage of the intersection.
An officer is told to end their pursuit shortly before the crash occurred, the footage shows.
The Baltimore City State Attorney will decide whether or not to prosecute the officers involved.
Dayna Waheedah, who knew the victim, told DailyMail.com that he was known as a gentleman in the community.
“He collected medals and took them to the scrap heap. If he didn’t, he had the truck there and would move people around the community. He was a good spirit.
And while he didn’t have a full-time “job,” he was always doing something that made a living. A friend of mine used to work with him on odd jobs, eviction cleanups, and basically anything that needed to be done in the community.”
The collapsed building had fire damage and had been empty for some time.
Waheedah said the building that collapsed used to be a restaurant called Northstar.
She added, “I’ve lived in this community for 7 and 1/2 years and the building has been on the brink of collapse for the last 15 years, it really should have been torn down years ago,” she said.