Police: Officer Injured After Car Thief Slams Vehicle Into Him In Bucks County
MORRISVILLE, Pa (CBS) -- A police officer was injured after confronting a suspect who was behind the wheel of a car believed to be stolen in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Saturday morning.
It happened around 5:30 a.m. outside of a 7-Eleven store along South Pennsylvania Avenue in Morrisville.
Police say the officer was on patrol when he pulled into the store's parking lot and noticed a car running that appeared suspicious. The officer ran the tags and discovered the vehicle was stolen. He approached the driver and that's when, according to police, the situation escalated.
"The defendant throws the car in reverse, striking the police vehicle," says Morrisville Police Chief George McClay, "and as the officer tries to stop him, he's yelling at him, the car hits the officer, the officer fires two shots striking the defendant."
McClay says the suspect was shot once in the chest. He drove off and later crashed into a guard rail, and veered the car into an embankment near Route One in Falls Township.
The suspect was arrested and taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in critical condition.
The officer was taken to Aria Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
"He's shaken up," McClay says. "He's upset about having to use his weapon, but he's in good shape. He's a good officer."
The identities of the suspect and the officer were being withheld pending charges.
The chief says the car was stolen four days ago in Bristol Township after the owner left it running in the morning with the keys in it. He says this vehicle, swiped because of cold-weather inconvenience, almost ended up becoming a deadly weapon.
"This is a very dangerous situation for my officers," McClay says. "This just tells you what happens because people want to leave their cars running in the morning time just because they want to get warmed up. That has to stop. This is something that's all across the county, all across (New) Jersey, and it puts my officers in danger."
Police in Philadelphia issued a warning on Friday to car owners not to leave an unoccupied vehicle running with the keys in the ignition. This after police there say they've received more than 100 reports in the last month of cars being stolen while they were left to warm up.