Bizarre hit-and-run and car theft leaves 2 officers hurt, 3 suspects at large

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A bizarre series of events that began with a hit-and-run crash and ended with a car theft and another crash has left two Philadelphia police officers hospitalized and three suspects at large.

Police say it all began around 2 a.m. Tuesday at the intersection of North Broad and Brown streets in Philadelphia's Spring Garden neighborhood.

That's where two 22nd District plainclothes officers driving a gray, unmarked Ford Ranger pickup truck were broad-sided by a black vehicle that took off.

Both officers were taken to Hahnemann University Hospital. The driver was treated for a concussion, and his partner for shoulder and hip injuries.

Both were expected to be okay.

Meanwhile, the 33-year-old driver of a white Ford SUV pulled up at the scene of the accident. He later told police he saw the crash scene got scared, panicked, and exited his SUV for some reason.

"He was not robbed, he was not carjacked," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. "Nobody said anything to him. He just jumped out of car. We don't know why."

The man left the SUV in drive as he jumped out. It was still slowly rolling forward when two people who happened to be in the area saw it and took it.

They headed south on Broad Street and ended up going the wrong way on 15th Street before crashing head-on into a moving Dodge Caravan minivan with multiple people inside. Fortunately none of those people were hurt.

The suspects also hit a parked Nissan Altima before coming to a stop, bumping the traffic signal on 15th at Parrish Street.

Police say both suspects jumped out and ran away, possibly entering a club at Broad and Parrish streets.

"They're described as two males, one wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt," said Small. "Police went into the club to look for suspects and they found a discarded red hooded sweatshirt."

Police are now looking for three suspects in connection with both the earlier hit-and-run involving police, and the later crash on 15h Street.

They were checking surveillance video in the area, hoping for clearer descriptions of those involved.