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The chase ended with the man running away from police with a toddler in his arms.
WASHINGTON — The man who was arrested after allegedly driving in the wrong direction on I-270 had his three children inside his car, a Frederick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson revealed Saturday.
Cory Thomas Burkhardt, 37, from Towson, was charged with 15 criminal counts for the police chase that began at around 4 p.m. on Route 15 in Montgomery County and continued on I-270 into Frederick County on Friday. The chase ended with Burkhardt running away from police with a toddler in his arms and deputies firing a stun gun to restrain him.
But the toddler, who police said was around two years old, had not been the only child inside the car.
Burkhardt’s eight and 12-year-old children were also inside the car, according to a FCSO spokesperson, while the father allegedly weaved his car over a median and drove through two sets of police spikes laid out onto the highway to slow him down.
The eight and 12-year-olds were able to get out of the car when it finally came to a stop near Clarksburg. Police said they used one of their squad cars to force Burkhardt’s car into a guardrail, all while the children were inside.
Once finally at a stop, Burkhardt refused to get out of the car but then emerged carrying the toddler. He then ran away from deputies with the young child still in his arms.
Worried that the man had a weapon — a Frederick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said Burkhardt had been running while “acting in a manner that suggested he was armed — deputies shot a stun gun at the man. FCSO said that the Taser was used so that deputies could safely get the child out of Burkhardt’s arms.
But the 37-year-old man still wouldn’t give up. After deputies were able to secure the toddler, Burkhardt continued to resist arrest, allegedly grabbing a deputy’s gun.
Finally, deputies were able to arrest Burkhardt. FCSO said officers used “non-lethal measures” to get him into police custody.
The 37-year-old man was taken to Frederick Health Hospital for an emergency evaluation while deputies secured charges against him Friday night.
There were “no serious injuries” among Burkhardt’s three children. FCSO spokesperson Katie Robine told WUSA9 the children had been released to their mother after Burkhardt’s arrest.
There were no serious injuries reported to FCSO by deputies or other people on the highway during the Friday chase.
Among the criminal charges faced by Burkhardt, a charge of “failing to secure a child under two years old in a rear-facing child safety seat” suggests his toddler had been even younger than two years old.
The 15 criminal charges by Burkhardt include traffic violations, assault charges, resisting arrest and first and second-degree assault.
Charges faced by Burkhardt, according to FCSO:
- First-degree assault (two counts)
- Second-degree assault (four counts)
- Disarming a law enforcement officer
- Attempt by driver to elude a uniformed police officer by failing to stop
- Attempt by driver to elude police in an official police vehicle by failing to stop
- Reckless driving
- Negligent driving a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner, endangering property, life and person
- Failure to drive on the right-hand roadway of a divided highway
- Driving on the median strip of a divided highway
- Failing to secure a child under two years old in a rear-facing child safety seat that complies with federal regulations
- Willfully disobeying the lawful order or direction of a police officer
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