Group of car thieves hits Philadelphia police cruiser while getting away

A group of car thieves fleeing Philadelphia police struck one officer's vehicle while getting away, officials said Wednesday morning.

The incident unfolded in Northeast Philadelphia just after 2 a.m. It started at Frankford and Rowland avenues, where officers responded to a report of people breaking into cars.

When the officers arrived, the suspects tried to get away in three different vehicles. One of the vehicles struck the police cruiser as the group sped away, Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

Two of those cars were found a short time later at Holme Avenue and Ashton Road, unattended with the engines still running. 

One of those cars, a Honda, was reported stolen on Tuesday, Small said.

A red sedan that also fled the scene has not been found.

A Philadelphia police sergeant was sitting inside the cruiser that was struck, but he was not injured, Small said.

"The sergeant is very, very lucky because he was struck while these vehicles were fleeing this scene at a high rate of speed," Small said.

Police will be looking at surveillance video and swabbing the unattended vehicles for fingerprints to try to identify the suspects.