CLEVELAND, Ohio – Five people were injured Monday after a police chase that began in Euclid ended in a crash in Cleveland.
At 7:30 p.m., surveillance cameras notified Euclid police that a stolen Kia Sportage was driving on St. Clair Avenue, prompting officers to begin following the car, Euclid police said.
The officers called for backup, and when another cruiser arrived, they tried to pull over the Sportage. The car did not stop, and police initially declined to chase the vehicle.
Shortly after, the Sportage stopped at a red light. An officer saw it, attempted to block the car in with his cruiser and then approached the driver on foot. The driver tried again to flee, striking the officer and speeding off, police said.
After that, police began chasing the car, which drove into Cleveland.
At 7:36 p.m., the stolen Sportage crashed into a Kia Soul at St. Clair Avenue and East 105th Street. It caused one of the Kias to leak oil, and a Euclid police car pursuing the stolen vehicle skidded on the surface into the Soul, according to police.
The driver of the stolen Sportage fled, but officers quickly arrested him. Police said they located a 9 mm handgun at the scene. The gun had been reported stolen. Officers are expected to file charges against the driver and a male passenger.
Cleveland police responded to the accident and discovered three teenagers had been riding in the stolen car. Two were 15-year-old boys and one was a 14-year-old girl. The driver of the Kia Soul was a 56-year-old woman.
The Euclid police officer who was struck and the passengers of the cars were taken to a hospital, but no one suffered life-threatening injuries, police said.
It’s unclear how fast the stolen car was going, but police believe “speed was a factor in the accident,” said Cleveland police spokesman Wilfredo Diaz.
