Allegheny County deputy recalls horror of pursuit
Wayne Davin watched in horror as an SUV struck two Pittsburgh police officers, sending them flying into the air. Then the Lincoln Navigator headed for his car.
The Allegheny County Sheriff's deputy quickly turned to the right to avoid a head-on collision.
"I didn't have time to think," Davin said this morning from his Robinson home. "It was just an 'Oh, crap' type of move."
Davin, 37, was one of three law enforcement officers injured yesterday during an hourlong chase through the city and eastern suburbs that ended with the arrest of Sean Wright, 21, of Homewood.
Pittsburgh police Lt. Richard Pritchard and Detective Brian Johnson were injured when Wright hit their vehicles behind a shopping plaza on Route 22 in Monroeville, police said.
Wright's SUV broadsided Pritchard's car as the lieutenant got out with a rifle, throwing Pritchard through the air, police said. Then Wright hit Johnson's unmarked city car, police said.
Paramedics took Pritchard and Johnson to UPMC Mercy, Uptown, where they were awaiting surgery, Harper said.
"I saw Lt. Pritchard fly up over his vehicle, and (Wright) hit the second unmarked unit head-on and spun that all the way around, and that's when I saw Johnson fly out of that vehicle," Davin said.
Davin, who had been listening to the chase on his police radio while serving civil papers in East Hills, joined the pursuit on Swissvale Avenue.
He described his injuries as similar to those from a fender bender.
"I was fortunate compared to the other officers," said Davin, who has worked for the sheriff's office for 12 years. "That's something I will never forget — the vision of those officers getting struck like that and flying out of the vehicles."
Davin became trapped in his vehicle after Wright slammed into it. Through his car's shattered glass and the spiderwebbed windshield of the Navigator, Davin was able to see Wright slumped over the steering wheel.
"Once I gathered myself after a second or so, I knew that he was armed, and I knew that he wasn't going down without a fight," Davin said. "He was dazed from the impact. I didn't know if he was out or searching for his weapon. I thought there was going to be a shootout."
Davin drew his gun and ordered Wright to show his hands. That's when he said "the cavalry" arrived — officers with a police dog and Tasers who arrested Wright.
"It was a tough situation for me because I was trapped in my vehicle, 2 or 3 feet away from him," Davin said. "You never want to be backed into a corner, and you never want to be trapped."
Police charged Wright, 21, with multiple counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and fleeing and eluding. He is being held at the Allegheny County Jail on two bonds — a $1 million straight bond and a $25,000 bond, a jail spokeswoman said.
When Wright led officers onto the Parkway East, Davin said he felt like Wright was playing a game.
"It was kind of a weird chase because at times it went up to 65 or 70 mph, and then it went to 20 or 30 mph," Davin said. "But the 65 mph was in the narrow streets in neighborhood and the 30 mph was on the parkway. It was like he was taking the moment in, seeing 30 to 40 police cars in his rearview mirror." Davin said if the collision between his car and Wright's SUV hadn't shaken Wright so much, there might have been more violence.
"It seemed like he was going to do whatever it took to not be arrested and he didn't have a care for anybody's life — not his, not the officers', not anybody," Davin said. "I think if he wasn't dazed and confused, he would've been shooting his way out of the vehicle."
