An armed suspect driving a vehicle reported stolen days earlier in Pittsburgh was involved in a road rage incident in Philadelphia before crashing into a police cruiser during a pursuit Tuesday night, leaving two officers hurt, Philadelphia police said.
The incident began when a man and woman said another driver pointed a gun at them around 9:30 p.m. near Witte Street and Allegheny Avenue in the city's Port Richmond section, Philadelphia police said. The man and woman called 911.
Police officers nearby spotted a white Toyota matching the description of the road rage incident a few blocks away on Jasper Street in the Kensington neighborhood, police said. As officers approached the car, the driver took off, ramming the police vehicle.
Police used a helicopter to track the Toyota, Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
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Police pursued the suspect to Fraley Street near Torresdale Avenue in the Wissinoming section of Northeast Philadelphia, investigators said. That's where the suspect's car crashed head-on into a police SUV, investigators said.
During the course of the investigation, police changed the locations of where the incidents took place.
The 24-year-old driver, later identified as Malik Johnson of Horsham, Pennsylvania, was taken into custody while two police officers were taken to the hospital for treatment for bumps and bruises, Small said. The officers were later released from the hospital.
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When investigators ran the license plate of the Toyota, they determined that the car was stolen during a carjacking and kidnapping three days earlier in Pittsburgh, police said.
Johnson was arraigned Thursday on aggravated assault, simple assault, reckless endangerment, fleeing police and related counts. Online court records don't name an attorney who could comment on his behalf.
