A Mobile Police Department patrol car was damaged after a suspect fleeing officers in a reported stolen vehicle rammed into the back of the cruiser during a chase that sent both vehicles racing the wrong way down one of the city’s busiest streets, according to police. By Thursday afternoon, MPD said a male juvenile had been arrested in connection with the incident.
Officers first attempted to stop the vehicle after learning it had been reported stolen, but the driver refused to pull over and sped off, prompting a pursuit, according to MPD. The chase carried the suspect’s car and the pursuing officers eastbound in the westbound lanes of Spring Hill Avenue, one of Mobile’s main east-west corridors, before the white sedan struck the rear of a patrol vehicle.
The suspect kept driving after the crash, continuing toward the Greers area before officers were able to end the pursuit. Police said one person was detained at the scene and that no injuries were reported in connection with the chase or the collision.
Juvenile Suspect Taken Into Custody
MPD confirmed Thursday afternoon that the person detained is a male juvenile who has since been arrested in connection with both the chase and the crash. Because the suspect is a minor, police have not released his name, and further details on potential charges had not been made public as of the department’s latest update.
Wrong-way pursuits are considered among the most dangerous scenarios police can encounter, since they put officers, suspects and uninvolved drivers at risk of head-on collisions on roads not designed for oncoming traffic. MPD has not said how the chase came to move into oncoming lanes, and the department said the incident remains under investigation.
Police said the case remains open and that additional information may be released as the investigation continues.