BEL AIR, MD (August 30, 2025) — A 21-year-old man from Yonkers, New York, identified as Juan Yahir Quiroz Manzueta, is accused of intentionally striking a Harford County Sheriff’s deputy with a rented Penske box truck during a chaotic pursuit on Interstate 95 near Aberdeen, Maryland, on August 26, 2025, leaving the officer seriously injured.
The incident stemmed from an attempted traffic stop initiated by Lt. Rob Burgess after observing the truck being driven erratically, weaving between northbound and southbound lanes. Quiroz Manzueta allegedly refused to stop, leading to a chase where he deliberately crashed into a series of vehicles, including a mail truck, a passenger vehicle, a tractor-trailer, and two unidentified vehicles, before ramming the deputy’s position as Burgess attempted to deploy stop sticks to puncture the truck’s tires.
No injuries were reported in the other collisions, but Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler emphasized during a press conference that all crashes appeared intentional.
The truck, rented in New York and equipped with siphoning and storage setups for used cooking oil, contained oil stolen earlier that day from an Applebee’s restaurant in Aberdeen. Investigators recovered a phone and the rental agreement from the vehicle after Quiroz Manzueta crashed it and fled on foot down a nearby hill. Using GPS data from Penske, authorities traced the truck’s movements and linked it to the theft.
Used cooking oil, often resold on the black market for biodiesel production or other uses, can fetch between $2 and $4 per gallon illicitly, making it a target for organized theft rings. Sheriff Gahler noted that Quiroz Manzueta has a history of similar crimes and a complex four-part name, suggesting possible aliases that may connect him to additional unsolved cases.
Following the crash, which was ultimately halted by another officer using a PIT maneuver, Quiroz Manzueta escaped to Delaware, where he called a woman in New York to pick him up at a travel plaza. He was apprehended the next day, August 27, by the U.S. Marshals Service in an apartment in New Rochelle, New York.
As of the August 28 press conference, Quiroz Manzueta faces charges including attempted second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault on a police officer, and related offenses, with authorities planning to pursue extradition from New York to Maryland. He remains in custody in New York awaiting a decision on whether to waive extradition, though no public updates confirm a waiver or specific hearing outcome as of August 30.
The suspect was taken into custody by the U.S. Marshal’s Service in a New Rochelle apartment based on a Maryland warrant. New Rochelle Police have confirmed the building to be Hightower Garden located at 11 Garden Street (but NRPD also adds they were not involved in that arrest).
He faces other charges relating to the incident.
The incident occurred on I-95, resulting in serious injuries to Lt. Rob Burgess, a 29-year member of the Harford County Sheriff’s Office currently assigned to the Community Policing Division. Burgess was transported to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where he was alert and stable.
The vehicle involved was a Penske truck that struck the deputy during the pursuit.
An individual was detained in connection with the incident but was released after an interview with detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division. The investigation into the identification of the driver continued.
I-95 was closed in both directions from exit 89 to the Maryland House due to extensive police activity in the area of Route 95 in Aberdeen.
The injured deputy was alert and conscious at the time of transport.
A media briefing with Sheriff Jeff Gahler on the incident was held on Aug. 26, 2025 at the Harford County Sheriff’s Office headquarters located in Bel Air, MD.
Westchester County Department of Correction Custody records show Juan Y. Quiroz-Manzueta (aliases include Juan Quiroz-Manzueta, Juan Yahir Quiroz-Manzueta), age 21, was taken into custody the Westchester County jail in Valhalla, NY on Aug 27, 2025 at 5:00 pm with a book date of Aug 27, 2025 at 4:08 pm.
The recent press conferences are available on Facebook.
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This article was drafted with the aid of Grok, an AI tool by xAI, under the direction and editing of Robert Cox to ensure accuracy and adherence to journalistic standards.
