Car stolen in Pittsburgh carjacking involved in Philadelphia police chase, crash
A car stolen in a carjacking Friday in Downtown Pittsburgh was involved in a police chase and crash Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh police said.
Police said they are trying to determine whether the suspect in the Philadelphia incident was involved in the Pittsburgh carjacking.
A Pittsburgh police spokeswoman said Zone 2 officers were called to 1100 Liberty Avenue around 8:20 p.m. Friday for reports of a carjacking.
When they arrived, the alleged victim told officers that she was waiting in her white Toyota Camry for her boyfriend when an unknown male jumped in the passenger side and demanded money.
“The victim told him she did not have any cash and offered to pay the suspect by Venmo,” police said.
The suspect agreed to give her his account name, but the transfer failed. He then demanded she take him to an ATM, at which time she jumped out of the car, police said.
The suspect got into the driver’s seat while the victim tried to get him out of the car from the outside.
Police said the suspect then got out of the car, grabbed the woman and threw her in the backseat.
“The victim managed to escape the moving vehicle before the suspect fled outbound on Liberty Avenue,” police said.
On Tuesday evening, Philadelphia police were involved in a police pursuit with the Camry, which crashed.
The suspect is in custody in Philadelphia facing multiple charges.
According to multiple media reports in Philadelphia, a person driving the Camry on Tuesday evening was involved in a road-rage incident around 9 p.m. during which he allegedly pointed a gun at a couple.
The couple obtained the car’s license plate and called police, who later pulled the vehicle over.
During the traffic stop, the media reports said, the driver got out of the car, then returned and sped off, with officers pursuing him for about three miles into Northeast Philadelphia.
He then crashed into a police SUV and several parked cars.
He was taken into custody and taken to an area hospital for minor injuries.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of “Death by Cyanide.” She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.