ABERDEEN, Md. — A Harford County Sheriff's Office deputy is recovering after being injured in the line of duty Tuesday.
WATCH: Truck driver transporting stolen cooking oil prompts police chase on I-95
It all started around 11:25am by Calvary Road and Snake Lane in Churchville.
That's where Lieutenant Robert Burgess was driving an unmarked police vehicle.
At this time Burgess noticed a Penske truck driving erratically.
WMAR-2 News' Ja Nai Wright live in Edgewood with more information about the crash
Burgess tried pulling the truck over, but the driver refused to stop.
While fleeing, the Penske driver struck a U.S. Mail truck and then a second vehicle just a few minutes later on E. Churchville Road.
The getaway driver kept going, reaching I-95, at which point Maryland State Police joined the pursuit.
From there the driver entered oncoming traffic on the southbound side of the interstate.
Burgess attempted to deploy stop sticks, for which the driver was able to avoid, resulting in collisions with several other vehicles, including a tractor-trailer and Tesla.
As the driver continued to swerve in and out of traffic, he struck Burgess.
Burgess was helicoptered to Shock Trauma for his injuries. Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler said he was alert and conscious.
"From the impact and the distance that he was thrown, I can tell you again that we're blessed to not be sitting here talking about a fatal incident," said Gahler.
In a further attempt to flee, the driver crossed over the northbound side of I-95, where another Harford County Sheriff's deputy rammed his truck off the road.
This caused the truck to go over and down a hill, north of Maryland House.
The driver was able to bail out, launching a search that ended with an unidentified person being taken into custody near exit 77.
Gahler later said the individual had been released, meaning the search for the driver is ongoing.
Investigators believe the getaway driver was transporting cooking oil stolen from an Aberdeen Applebee's earlier in the day.
"We've had this before, we've made arrests on this before. But apparently it is profitable to some criminals to go to businesses and steal their used cooking oil and they can sell that for cash," said Gahler.
Luckily all the innocent people whose vehicles were struck during this entire ordeal were not seriously injured.
"We do not like pursuits. And when you're driving a larger single unit vehicle and you are just running into cars, driving the wrong way on the interstate, there's a lot of concern on everybody's part about the safety," said Gahler.
Due to the size of the crime scene, I-95 was closed for a prolonged period, before reopening Tuesday afternoon.
