Had tens of thousands of visitors and hundreds of police not been in town for the Battle of Gettysburg's 150th anniversary, a car crash and subsequent manhunt Wednesday would not have gotten the police response that it did, said Adams County Emergency Management Director John Eline.

But the emergency response planning that went into the 150th event meant plenty of police officers were in town when two males crashed an allegedly stolen car into a house and fled through the busy downtown area, said South Central Task Force Public Information Officer Duane Hagelgans.

Officers, including some with rifles in hand, covered the area and pursued the 22-year-old and 17-year-old.

"I think the response was very appropriate given the number of people visiting Gettysburg," Eline said.

From a safety standpoint, it makes sense to use emergency and police resources that are available, he said. At the time, no one knew why the males were running from police, Hagelgans added.

During the manhunt, emergency and police personnel at the Pickett's Charge commemoration event -- attended by tens of thousands of people -- were able to stay there, Hagelgans said. The emergency preparation that went into the biggest planned event of the day meant all personnel could stay put.

"Had we not added resources in Pickett's Charge, had we not planned for that, when this other incident arose we might have had to pull cops and EMS and whatnot away from that event to the stolen-car event," Hagelgans said.

South Central Task Force planned for issues related to the mass of people, high heat and injuries from walking on the uneven ground, Hagelgans said.

There were some communication blunders during and after the incident Wednesday, Hagelgans said. Though Gettysburg Police Department was the leading agency and responsible for handling media inquiries, the department became overwhelmed due to the number of media organizations in town, he said.

Hagelgans and Pennsylvania State Police Troop H Public Information Officer Robert Hicks eventually took over the responsibility of releasing information to the media, Hagelgans said.

At least one question about Wednesday's police incident remained unanswered as of Friday. Gettysburg Police could not be reached for comment about whether one or both of the males had a weapon.

Wednesday's incident began around 3:30 p.m. when police saw a gray sedan that was reported to have been stolen. A chase began, and the car crashed into a house on Highland Avenue.

The passenger, 22-year-old Lonney Jones-Anderson, was apprehended near the scene. Police caught the driver, a 17-year-old from Cumberland Township, more than an hour later about a half mile away from the crash. Both were charged with various crimes.

Pickett's Charge event drew huge crowd

The National Park Service estimates that 15,000 people recreated Pickett's Charge at an event Wednesday to commemorate the Confederates' attack on July 3, 1863.

That's more than the number of soldiers who actually attacked 150 years ago. Estimates say about 12,000 soldiers marched toward Union lines on Cemetery Ridge that day.

At Wednesday's commemoration, park service spokesperson Katie Lawhon said, between 20,000 and 25,000 people took places on Cemetery Ridge, recalling the Union troops massed there in 1863.