Man steals vehicle from Northeast Philadelphia Rita's with baby inside, police say

A 42-year-old man stole a vehicle from Rita's Water Ice in Northeast Philly with a baby inside and crashed on Roosevelt Boulevard after a chase Thursday night, Philadelphia Police Department Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

Small said officers responded to a report of a stolen vehicle at Rita's on the 8600 block of Frankford Avenue just after 8 p.m.

The man who owned the stolen vehicle told officers at Rita's that he had left his red Toyota minivan running with his 2-month-old daughter in the backseat, Small said.

Small said officers spotted the Toyota minivan at Grant Avenue and Academy Road and began to pursue the vehicle. The man driving the stolen minivan hit a civilian car and a police vehicle and kept driving.

Small said the man driving the stolen Toyota was heading northbound on Roosevelt Boulevard when he crashed into a third vehicle in the area of Red Lion Road.

The 42-year-old then fled from the minivan on foot into the woods, where he was apprehended by police, Small said.

Small said the 2-month-old daughter was still in a car seat after the crash on Roosevelt Boulevard.

The baby was OK and reunited with her father, Small said.