Arizona DPS trooper injured in crash that may involve carjacking suspect
Sep 29, 2017, 6:11 PM | Updated: 7:22 pm
(Twitter Photo/@Arizona_DPS)
(Twitter Photo/@Arizona_DPS)
PHOENIX — An Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was injured in a multi-car crash on Friday that may have involved a suspect in a carjacking from earlier in the day.
According to Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Raul Garcia, an unidentified trooper on a motorcycle was patrolling in the area of State Route 51, Loop 202 and Interstate 10 on Friday when he identified a stolen black car.
The trooper engaged in a brief pursuit with the vehicle after exiting Loop 202 at 24th Street, but was forced to stop the pursuit due to safety reasons, Garcia said.
When the trooper reached the area of McDowell Road and 24th Street, the trooper was rear-ended by a silver passenger car.
The trooper then proceeded to chase the vehicle. The vehicle eventually collided with two pick-up trucks near McDowell Road and 32nd Street.
The trooper then used his Taser to take the suspect into custody. The trooper suffered a minor injury and was taken to a local hospital, Garcia said.
The suspect also sustained a minor injury and is now stable at a local hospital, Garcia said. The pick-up truck drivers were not injured.
The vehicle involved in the collision was tied from a carjacking at a Starbucks in Scottsdale early on Friday morning.
Sgt. Ben Hoster, a spokesman with the Scottsdale Police Department, said a man was parking his car in a Starbucks parking lot when man in a mask pointed the gun at a driver and forced him to get out of the car. The suspect drove off with the victim’s car.
Hoster said the stolen silver BMW convertible was recovered after the accident. It was unclear whether the suspects in the two cases were the same person.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
