Horrifying moment as Ohio police officers fire bullets at hijackers, 54 and 51, after kidnapping truck driver in his semi-truck, leading officers on a three-hour chase and holding him hostage: Suspects die in hospital

This is the terrifying moment when police rescued a truck driver who was being held hostage by a couple who hijacked his semi truck in the middle of the night and led police on a three-hour chase, before the pair were shot dead in a standoff.

New footage shows a group of Ohio State Troopers engulfing the truck Wednesday morning and exchanging fire with the couple, who were in the cab.

After the gunfight, the truck driver – who appeared with his hands up in 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 started at 1am six hours earlier when the pair were pulled over in their car by a London Police officer because they had no rear lights or number plates.

When the officer tried to identify them, they fled in their car, which they then abandoned at a truck stop. There they hijacked the occupied semi and also left in it.

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

The incident began just before 1 a.m. on August 2 when officers from the London Police Department pulled over an old Dodge Caravan on State Route 42.

The man, the woman and a dog were in the car.

Police bodycam footage released Wednesday evening showed the woman claiming they had been to the emergency room because she injured her eye.

“I just poked myself in the eye with the scissors,” you hear her say.

When the officer asked for the man’s driver’s license, he explained that he had his wallet in the woman’s purse, but her purse had been stolen. While searching for items in the car, he assured the officer that he did not have a gun.

“My social security, my permit, everything was in that thing,” he told the officer.

During the interaction, the dog became more and more agitated and restless, and both the couple and the officer tried to calm it down.

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

When the officer who initiated the traffic stop briefly returned to his cruiser, the Dodge Caravan engaged and took off, causing the officer to jump back into his patrol vehicle and give chase.

Within about ten minutes, the couple pulled up at a gas station truck stop and abandoned their car before fleeing across the parking lot on foot.

The officer also got out of his car and chased the two with a taser drawn. The officer then exclaimed that the man had a gun and took cover behind a parked car.

“He’s got a gun,” the officer was heard yelling as other police officers arrived on the scene.

Footage taken from the officer’s patrol vehicle shows the man trying to flee with his pants around his neck, causing him to fall over.

Police Chief Glenn Nicol said the man did not fire the gun at the time, but a live bullet was later found at the truck stop.

“When the officer attempted to deploy a taser, the male suspect fell and pointed a gun at the officer,” a police statement read. “The suspect was able to flee to a nearby trailer without a trailer.”

The couple both got into that unlocked parked semi, the driver of which was in the cab at the time.

Other London Police officers tried to lure the pair out of the semi with a megaphone, but after about 20 minutes, at 1:30 a.m., it pulled away from its parking space, hitting a cruiser in the process.

A multi-county chase 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 during the chase were between 60 and 65 mph.

“Usually we try not to go on such a long chase,” he said. “But with the speeds and severity of the crime and with the kidnapping happening, we had to keep in touch with that vehicle.”

At around 3:20 a.m., the semi was brought to a halt and deputies attempted to negotiate the release of the driver, who was being held hostage by the pair.

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

Authorities negotiated with the two suspects via cell phone for about four hours before opting to approach the vehicle to free the hostage.

Footage showed the Special Response Team of the Ohio State Highway Patrol surrounding the truck around 7:30 a.m. and gunfire was exchanged.

“As troopers approached, they were fired upon. Troopers returned fire and beat both the male and female suspects,” the police statement said.

Both the man and woman were then taken to nearby Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton. The woman was pronounced dead on arrival and the man was also pronounced dead at around 12:30 p.m.

The truck driver was also taken to hospital but had only minor injuries – it is not clear if he was hit.

The ramps from I-70 to Dayton International Airport Access Road and Dayton International Airport Access Road were closed for hours.

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