A man stole a Fayetteville police car, threw an officer from the car and hit an emergency medical responder with the car on Sunday morning in Fayetteville, officials said.
Police and EMS responded to a medical call at around 8 a.m. on the 2500 block of Fordham Drive. When they arrived, the man was described by officials as “agitated” and got into the driver seat of the Fayetteville police car. Responding officers tried to remove him from the drivers seat, and a “struggle ensued,” the release said.
Officers tried to stop him from driving off, but they did not succeed. He put the car in drive and dragged one officer from the vehicle, an official statement said.
He then hit an EMS worker with the car and the officer was thrown from the police car.
Fleeing the scene, officers chased after him. North Carolina Highway Patrol helped with the police chase. The man driving the stolen police car crashed into several other cars while fleeing from officers.
The man is now in custody and being given medical treatment at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.
An official release said: “numerous charges” will be filed.
Both of the responders suffered minor injuries. The officer had to be treated at Cape Fear Valley.
“It could have been very, very worse,” said Jamie Williams, who witnessed the incident. “I feel bad for the police officer that got ran over in the cross-hairs of it.”
Officials have not yet released the name and charges of the man who they say stole the car.
Anyone who may have been hit by the stolen police car during the chase should call 911 and report the crash to their jurisdiction.
Detectives are asking for security camera footage in the area of Fordham Drive, Dartmouth Drive and Purdue Drive to assist in their investigation.