Authorities say a police pursuit of theft suspects driving a stolen vehicle ended when the vehicle crashed in a suburban Philadelphia driveway.
The chase through Springfield, Delaware County, started around 1 a.m. Tuesday, when police responded to reports that a neighbor confronted someone stealing items out of cars along Pancoast Avenue, Springfield Township police said. The suspected thief had ran off and jumped into a car driven by a woman on Leamy Avenue.
The driver than drove at the witness, nearly hitting him, Springfield Police Chief Joe Daly said.
Officers spotted the car a short time later and a brief pursuit ensued, police said. The suspect's car quickly went out of control, sideswiping a parked vehicle and a pole.
The chase ended when the suspect's vehicle went up on a lawn then struck a vehicle parked in a home's driveway near Spring Valley Road and West Leamy Avenue, about half a mile from where the initial theft occurred. The suspect's vehicle then flipped over onto its side, winding up just feet from the home, investigators said.
Crews extricated the driver, identified as a 25-year-old woman, through the front windshield, police said. She suffered a minor arm injury.
A 16-year-old boy had fled from the car before the crash and was captured a short time later about a half mile away, Daly said.
Inside the crashed car, which was stolen from Philadelphia, investigators found a stolen 9 mm handgun, police said.
Police believe they have evidence of "numerous victims" of thefts from unlocked cars.
Neither suspect cooperated with investigators, police said. The woman, who wasn't yet charged as of Tuesday morning, claimed to be homeless while the boy, who isn’t identified since he is a minor, hails from Philadelphia.
