STATE TROOPERS LOST THEIR PATIENCE AFTER FOUR HOURS OF NEGOTIATIONS

Pair killed in shootout with Ohio state troopers following pursuits, kidnapping

 

Associated Press

August 2, 2023 

 

Bullet holes to the front windshield of a hijacked semi-truck from London, Ohio, are seen on Airport Access Road in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday

 

VANDALIA, Ohio — A police pursuit in Ohio eventually led to the kidnapping of a tractor-trailer driver, spurring another pursuit and a lengthy standoff that culminated in a shootout between two suspects and Ohio state troopers, leaving both suspects dead.

The initial pursuit began around 1 a.m. Wednesday in London, when a police officer stopped a van. London Police Chief Glenn Nicol said a man and a woman in the van gave the officer false information, then drove away as the officer walked back to his cruiser.

The van ultimately stopped at a truck stop on US 42. The two van occupants got out and were briefly chased on foot by police, including an officer who tried to stop the pair with a stun gun. The male suspect also pointed a gun at the officers but did not fire it, authorities said.

 

Authorities on Thursday identified the two suspects killed in a dramatic police chase and hostage situation in London, Ohio early Wednesday morning as married couple, Rodney Helman, 54, and his wife Elaine, 51

 

The man and woman then got into a tractor-trailer cab that was unlocked and did not have a trailer attached. The truck driver was in the vehicle at the time, and the truck was soon driven away from the truck stop, hitting a London police cruiser but causing no injuries.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol and officers from other law enforcement agencies then chased the truck cab through several counties before the pursuit ended in Vandalia on Interstate 70 west, near the Dayton International Airport Access Road.

Authorities then negotiated for about four hours with the two suspects before deciding to approach the vehicle in a bid to free the hostage. One of the suspects then fired several shots from a handgun at troopers who returned fire, critically wounding both suspects. No troopers were injured, authorities said.

 

The truck driver who was held hostage by the pair appears with his hands up in the dramatic video as cops fired more than a dozen rounds at the male and female suspect who were both killed

 

The truck driver who was taken hostage suffered only minor injuries and was treated at a hospital.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation will lead an investigation into the shooting.