3 Teens Rob Car At KOP Mall, Crash Into SEPTA Bus In Philly: Cops

UPPER MERION, PA — A lengthy police chase that from the King of Prussia Mall to Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia ended on Tuesday night when the teen carjackers crashed into a SEPTA bus.

The incident began at around 9:44 p.m. on the lower level of the green parking deck at the mall, according to the Upper Merion Police Department.

A 17-year-old boy, a 17-year-old girl, and a 14-year-old girl approached a woman who was just finishing work and walking to her vehicle. They first asked to use her phone to make a call, police said. The boy then put her in a chokehold, while one of the other teens punched her and threw her to the ground.

The teens then got into the woman's vehicle, a 2005 Toyota Highlander, and sped off.

Upper Merion police caught up with the suspects as they drove on the Schuylkill Expressway in the Gulph Mills area. Pennsylvania State Police joined the chase, and took over as they passed into Philadelphia at City Line Avenue.

The suspects exited 76 at the Spring Garden Street ramp, and police attempted to stop them using a "PIT maneuver" — hitting their car from behind near the rear wheel in an attempt to spin them out and cause them to stop — but it was unsuccessful, police said.

The teens managed to regain control and headed west on Spring Garden, and, at the intersection with N. 37th Street, smashed into a crowded SEPTA bus.

Seven people on the SEPTA bus were injured, bu all injuries were minor. The two girls were immediately taken from the stolen car and transported to a nearby hospital for care. The Philadelphia Fire Department had to extricate the boy from the vehicle, before he too was transported to the hospital.

Charges are pending against all three juveniles in Montgomery County.