This is the terrifying moment cops rescued a trucker who had been held hostage by a couple who hijacked his semi-truck in the middle of the night and led cops on a three-hour long chase, before the pair were shot dead in a standoff. 

New footage shows a group of Ohio state troopers swarm the truck on Wednesday morning and exchange fire with the couple, who were in the cabin.

After the shootout at around 7.30am, the truck driver – who appeared with his hands up wearing an orange t-shirt, shorts and socks – was rescued with only minor injuries and the 54-year-old man and 51-year-old woman were pronounced dead in hospital. 

The incident began six hours earlier at around 1am when the couple were pulled over in their car by an officer with the London Police Department for having no rear lights or registration. 

As the officer tried to identify them they fled in their car, which they ditched at a truck stop. There, they hijacked the parked semi and took off in that too.

Sgt. Orahood of the London Police Department told DailyMail.com that it is not yet known why the couple fled and that his department had never dealt with them before.

Footage showed a group of Ohio state troopers surround a hijacked truck at around 7.30am on Wednesday morning and exchange fire with the man and woman who had stolen it hours earlier

Footage showed a group of Ohio state troopers surround a hijacked truck at around 7.30am on Wednesday morning and exchange fire with the man and woman who had stolen it hours earlier

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 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 couple were pulled over on State Route 42 at around 1am for driving without rear lights or a registration. After misidentifying themselves they made off in the car and led the officer on a chase

The couple were pulled over on State Route 42 at around 1am for driving without rear lights or a registration. After misidentifying themselves they made off in the car and led the officer on a chase

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The incident began just before 1am on August 2 officers with London Police Department pulled over an old Dodge Caravan on State Route 42.

Inside the car was a man and a woman who claimed to be his wife, as well as a dog.

Police body cam footage released on Wednesday evening shows the moment the woman explained to the officer that she had come from the emergency room after injuring her eye.

‘I just poked myself in the eye, with the scissors,’ the female passenger can be heard saying. 

When the cop asks for the driver’s license, the man explains that he had his wallet in the woman’s bag, but that her bag had been stolen. As he looked through items in the car he assured the officer he did not have a gun.

‘My social security, my license, everything was in that thing,’ he told the cop, according to the video. 

During the interaction the dog became increasingly agitated and restless, and both the couple and the cop attempted to calm it. 

When the couple were asked for their names, they misidentified themselves, according to a subsequent statement police. They said they were Rodney and Barbara Taylor of Somerset, Kentucky, born in 1968 and 1972 respectively.

As the officer that initiated the traffic stop returned briefly to his car, the Dodge Caravan was turned on and took off, causing the officer to jump back in his patrol vehicle and give chase.

After the couple ditch their car they run across the parking lot of a truck stop and the man pulls a gun on the officer after a taser is drawn

After the couple ditch their car they run across the parking lot of a truck stop and the man pulls a gun on the officer after a taser is drawn

The pair hijack an unlocked but occupied semi truck, pictured with its lights on. After around 20 minutes they take off in the truck, with its driver in the cabin

The pair hijack an unlocked but occupied semi truck, pictured with its lights on. After around 20 minutes they take off in the truck, with its driver in the cabin

Within around ten minutes the couple pull into a truck stop by a gas station and abandoned their car before fleeing on foot.

The original officer chased the man and threatened to fire his taser at him, at which point the bodycam footage suggested he brandished a gun.

‘He’s got a gun,’ the officer is heard shouting at other police arrive at the scene. 

Footage captured from the officer’s patrol vehicle showed the man attempting to flee with his trousers around his angles, and eventually falling over.

Police Chief Glenn Nicol said the man did not fire the gun at that moment but a live round was found at the truck stop later.

‘As the officer attempted to deploy a taser, the male suspect fell and pointed a handgun at the officer,’ read a police statement. ‘The suspect was able to flee to a nearby semi-tractor with no trailer.’

The couple both got into that unlocked parked semi, whose driver was in the cabin at the time.

Other officers from the London Police Department attempted to coax the pair out of the semi using a megaphone, but after about 20 minutes, at 1.30am, it pulled out of its parking spot, hitting a cruiser in the process.

A chase across multiple counties ensued, involving state troopers and police officers, as well as deputies from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Nicol, the top speeds reached in the chase were between 60 and 65 mph.

‘Usually we try to not engage in such a long pursuit,’ he said. ‘However with the speeds and the seriousness of crime and with the abduction taking place we had to maintain contact with that vehicle.’

At around 3.20am the semi was brought to a halt and deputies attempted to negotiate the release of the driver, who was being held hostage by the couple.

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OSHP Lt. Nathan Dennis said the chase ended at Interstate 70 near Dayton International Airport Access Road in Montgomery County. 

Dozens of police officers descended on the area as white smoke, which appeared to be tear gas, was fired into the vehicle

Dozens of police officers descended on the area as white smoke, which appeared to be tear gas, was fired into the vehicle

At around 7.30am Ohio State Highway Patrol's Special Response Team surrounded the truck and gunfire was exchanged

At around 7.30am Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Special Response Team surrounded the truck and gunfire was exchanged 

Authorities negotiated with the two suspects over cellphone for about four hours before choosing to approach the vehicle to free the hostage. 

Footage showed how at around 7.30am Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Special Response Team surrounded the truck and gunfire was exchanged.

‘As troopers approached, they were fired upon. Troopers returned fire, striking both the male and female suspects,’ read the police statement. 

Both the man and woman were then taken to the nearby Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. The woman was pronounced dead on arrival and at around 12.30am, the man was also pronounced dead.

The truck driver was also hospitalized but only had minor injuries – it is not clear if he was struck.

The I-70 ramps to Dayton International Airport Access Road as well as Dayton International Airport Access Road were closed for several hours. 

No officers were injured in the shooting and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is investigating.

DailyMail

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