Two people are dead and another was hospitalized after a car police began pursuing in Maryland came to a fiery crash nearly 30 miles away in a residential area of Southeast Washington, authorities said.

Anne Arundel County police officers first engaged the white BMW, which they suspected was connected to multiple armed robberies, around 12:15 p.m. in the area of Bestgate Road on Tuesday and pursued it westbound on Route 50 through Prince George’s County, Anne Arundel County Police Chief Amal Awad said at a news conference.

The department requested help from the U.S. Park Police aviation unit, and a U.S. Park Police officer initiated pursuit after finding the car, U.S. Park Police Chief Jessica Taylor said at the news conference.

The BMW was traveling fast, crested a hill and crashed into a tree, catching fire in the 4100 block of Southern Avenue SE, Taylor said. Police did not answer additional questions about the moments leading up to the crash. The proximity of U.S. Park Police and Anne Arundel County officers to the vehicle at the time was not clear.

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Two people were pronounced dead at the scene, Taylor said. A male with non-life-threatening injuries was taken to a hospital in D.C. police custody. Police did not release the genders or identities of the deceased.

Taylor said police recovered a firearm that authorities believe was tossed out of the car.

Awad said Anne Arundel County officers have been working for weeks in the southern part of the county investigating cases of people being robbed while making withdrawals or deposits at local banks.

“Any time a vehicle is involved in a felonious criminal act, our officers are authorized to pursue, and I fully support our officers in their decisions that they make in these instances,” Awad said.

Kelly Taylor, an advisory neighborhood commissioner who lives near the crash site, questioned authorities’ choices Tuesday as he looked at what he said appeared to be two young people lying dead in the wreckage. Incinerated car pieces were strewn along the street and sidewalk, with one house’s fence mangled after the crash.

“The chase was too long,” Kelly said. “Thirty-plus miles of people potentially getting hurt behind this? That’s a long way.”

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

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