PLYMOUTH — For their “extraordinarily selfless actions,” two state police troopers were honored for heroism after they were injured when a Philadelphia man linked to an organized retail theft group led them on a high-speed chase in the wrong direction on Route 422.
State Police Corporal Jeffrey Simmons and Trooper Jonathan Loesch Jr. received a special award for heroism from Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele during his annual law enforcement commendation ceremony at the Montgomery County Public Safety Training Campus in Plymouth Township.
“Corporal Simmons and Trooper Loesch, due to your extraordinarily selfless actions, numerous civilian lives were saved that night. Your actions were truly brave and heroic,” Steele addressed the troopers during the May 21 ceremony.
“We honor these law enforcement heroes who get up every day, put on their uniform and badge…and leave their families never knowing what to expect on that day’s shift. Their concern is for others’ well-being, always before their own,” Steele added.
The two state troopers were injured during the 2:41 a.m. Sept. 17, 2022, incident on Route 422 in Limerick when police conducted a so-called “precision immobilization technique,” or PIT maneuver, to disable the U-Haul box truck operated by suspect Michael D. Curtis. The PIT maneuver caused the police vehicle to strike a Mack dump truck on the highway, injuring the troopers, according to court papers.
One trooper suffered lacerations to the face and head and another suffered a broken hip and spinal injuries.
“Despite the overnight hours, there were numerous civilian vehicles, as well as police vehicles, traveling on Route 422 and in danger of being hit head-on by the U-Haul. Trooper Loesch and Corporal Simmons made a quick decision to execute a PIT maneuver with their vehicle in order to stop the suspects,” Steele said.
During the investigation of the retail theft organization, police were made aware of a suspicious U-Haul vehicle that was involved in those thefts.
At about 2:41 a.m. Sept. 17, state police were alerted to be on the lookout for a suspicious U-Haul box truck involved in the thefts and which had previously failed to stop for police, according to a criminal complaint.
A trooper subsequently observed the suspect vehicle entering Route 422 westbound from Route 29 in Upper Providence with no taillights illuminated. Two state police vehicles, with lights and sirens, pursued the U-Haul but it failed to stop and accelerated past other vehicles on the highway at a high rate of speed, police alleged.
When the U-Haul truck reached the Lewis Road area in Limerick, Curtis conducted a U-turn and traveled eastbound in the westbound lanes of Route 422.
State police immediately conducted the PIT maneuver to disable the U-Haul truck, in order to protect other motorists on the highway who were placed in danger by Curtis’ actions. The PIT maneuver also caused the police vehicle to strike the front of a Mack dump truck on the highway.
“I was forced to make a split-second decision that changed our lives forever,” one of the injured troopers told the judge in a victim impact statement submitted during Curtis’ sentencing hearing, adding he was out of work for months due to his injuries and that “knowing how close we were to death in the performance of our job duties affected me for a long time after returning to work.”
Three individuals in the U-Haul, Curtis, who was driving the vehicle, and two passengers, were detained by police.
During an interview by police, Curtis admitted he was driving the U-Haul truck.
In March, Curtis, 38, of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 7 to 14 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two felony charges of aggravated assault of a police officer and a felony charge of fleeing and eluding police in connection with the incident.
With the charges, police alleged Curtis “recklessly engaged in conduct which created a substantial risk of injury or death” to other motorists on Route 422, to police officers and to the two passengers in the U-Haul truck.
Curtis also pleaded guilty to a felony charge of organized retail theft in connection with his role with several others in the theft scheme that targeted Lowes and Home Depot stores in Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware counties between May and September 2022.
