A Philadelphia Police vehicle struck an officer wrestling with a ride-sharing driver who police say drove down from New York to smash up another vehicle Friday afternoon.
The wild scene played out around 1:40 p.m. along the 5500 block of Pine Street in West Philadelphia -- a short distance from the 18th Police District station -- after the suspect got out of his car -- the iconic pink Lyft mustache on its front dash -- and struck an unoccupied sport utility vehicle with a baseball bat.
Police said the 18th District officer saw the bat attack and tried to apprehend the suspect.
"The plainclothes officer along with the offender tried to run around the car that's now blocking the pathway as the uniformed officer was driving westbound on Pine," said Philadelphia Police Lt. John Walker. "As they run into the street, the non-uniformed officer grabs the offender and they both fall onto the ground and unfortunately the van.. runs over the leg of... the police officer."
The incident left the officer hospitalized at Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition with a leg injury.
The suspect complained of aches and pains after the incident, so officers took him to the hospital for observation.
Investigators said the suspect had driven his taxi-and-limousine-licensed sedan from New York. The suspect -- a 30-year-old man from the Bronx -- drives for ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft, police told NBC10's Harry Hairston.
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Lyft said that NBC10 made them aware of the incident. The ride-sharing service immediately deactivated the driver who had not had any previous incidents. Lyft also said they would be happy to cooperate with investigators.
The owner of the SUV was out of state at the time of the attack, said police.
