Suspect charged in dirt bike crash and carjacking in Upper Darby
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (WPVI) -- Police have identified the suspect charged in connection with a violent dirt bike crash and carjacking in Upper Darby that left a woman, a child and the suspect himself hospitalized.
32-year-old Caliph Douglass, of the 1700 block of Ringgold Street in Philadelphia, is charged with a list of offenses including robbery, aggravated and simple assault, fleeing police, causing an accident involving personal injury and driving with a suspended license.
Douglass, who suffered a collapsed lung and spinal injuries during Saturday's chaotic incident, was arraigned Sunday at Crozier-Chester Medical Center.
It all happened around 1:30 p.m. Saturday at 69th and Market streets in Upper Darby.
Police say Douglass drove a dirt bike into Upper Darby after being pursued briefly by officers in West Philadelphia.
Douglass drove into a busy intersection, police say, as people were walking to the Tower Theatre for a family-friendly show.
Police say he was dodging and zipping through traffic when he struck a 44-year-old woman and her 6-year-old niece, injuring both of them.
The woman was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where she is now listed in guarded condition.
The girl was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and is now in intensive care.
After the crash, police say, Douglass, who was also injured, fled the scene - not on foot, but in a stolen car.
"The operator of this motor vehicle gets off, pulls a knife out, carjacked a vehicle then takes off," Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood told Action News.
Police later located the abandoned vehicle on Cobbs Creek Parkway in West Philadelphia and were eventually able to track down the suspect.
The victim who was carjacked in Upper Darby was not hurt.
Upper Darby Police and Philadelphia Police from the Southwest Detectives unit continue to investigate the case.
----------
Send a breaking news alert to Action News
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc family of apps
