Stolen Car Crashes Into Cops' Undercover Truck

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Eight people were injured, including two police officers, when a stolen car crashed into an undercover Dodge Ram 1500 pickup early Monday morning.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, a 2016 Toyota Corolla was heading north on 54th Street around 12:23 a.m. at a high rate of speed and ran the stop sign at the intersection of Central Avenue. At that time, an undercover pickup truck, driven by a St. Petersburg Police Officer, was heading west on Central Avenue. The Corolla slammed into the truck, police wrote in an email to media.

A Tampa Police Officer was in the truck’s passenger seat at the time of the crash. The officer, who has not yet been identified, suffered serious, but not life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The St. Petersburg officer was also taken to the hospital with less serious injuries and was later released.

Police say six people were inside the Corolla, which had been reported stolen from 27th Street South on March 11. The driver of the vehicle, Jamal Parker, 25, suffered critical injuries, police say. The five other people in the car, including several teenagers, suffered less serious injuries.

The Tampa and St. Petersburg officers were working together as part of the Auto Theft Task Force when the crash occurred. They, however, were not involved in a pursuit at the time of the crash, the police department said.

No further information, including the officers’ names, is available at this time. The accident remains under investigation.

Image via Shutterstock

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