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Trooper hurt in crash involving stolen vehicle

Posted at 4:50 PM, Sep 29, 2017
and last updated 2017-09-30 07:44:37-04

Authorities say an Arizona Department of Public Safety trooper was injured Friday in a multi-car crash that involved a car that was stolen earlier in the day.

DPS says the suspect was driving a silver BMW on 24th Street near McDowell Road when he rear-ended a trooper, who had just been in pursuit of a separate stolen vehicle.

According to DPS, after rear-ending the trooper, the suspect drove away, and the trooper followed.

A short time later the suspect crashed into two pickup trucks in the intersection of 32nd Street and McDowell Road.

The trooper suffered non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the first accident.

Two other cars were also involved in the second crash, authorities said.

The suspect initially fled the crash scene on foot but was later apprehended by authorities after being Tased, a DPS spokesperson said. 

He also suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital.

Scottsdale police say the vehicle in the Phoenix collision is the same vehicle taken in a carjacking at a Scottsdale Starbucks early on Friday morning, when a man in a mask pointed a gun at a driver and forced him to get out of the car. The suspect then drove off in the victim's car.

It has not been made public if the suspect driving the BMW when it crashed Friday afternoon was the same suspect that carjacked that vehicle earlier in the day.

DPS said they are continuing to investigate the connection between the Phoenix and Scottsdale incidents.

It's unclear if the first stolen vehicle DPS was following had any connection to the suspect in the silver BMW. 

More information to come.