'I was terrified.' Witnesses describe chaos during shootout on Dixie Highway between police, wanted man
Those who found themselves front and center to the end of a police chase described the chaos as gunfire erupted during a shootout that turned deadly.
"Adrenaline was flowing," John Maldonado said. "We don't know what would've happened. We just know the bullets were flying and we just were there. You could just tell that at the speeds they were going that it wasn't going to end well."
John Maldonado and his girlfriend Blake Curran were on their way to dinner Tuesday night when they stopped at a red light at the intersection of Dixie Highway and Ashby Lane and found themselves in the middle of the chaos that would leave Samuel Quinton Edwards — who as wanted out of Tennessee — dead.
"There was another car turning down Ashby and so when he came across the double lines the person being chased, he crashed into that vehicle right in front of us," Curran said.
After the crash, the couple started recording. In the video, police are heard shouting commands to the suspect to "get down" while the man the suspect hit gets out of the car. Shortly after, a barrage of bullets can be heard.
"It was a roller coaster of like confusion, fear, and then when the shots started ringing out we were definitely terrified," Curran said. "I was terrified. When they actually started shooting I was like oh my gosh this guy must've really done something."
Edwards was wanted for shooting a police officer in Hendersonville, Tennessee Monday night. The officer survived. Investigators said Edwards took off with at least two guns in a stolen pick-up truck.
Nashville police tell WLKY his run in with the law came to an end in Valley Station after an exchange of gunfire with Kentucky State Police left Edwards dead.
Curran believes police handled it the best way they could.
"There were a lot of people around," Curran said. "A lot of police officers, like LMPD, Kentucky state police I mean there was a lot of moving parts and a lot of different lives involved in this so it could've been much worse than what it was."
That portion of Dixie Highway was shut down for hours as police processed the scene.
KSP said it is handling the investigation going forward.