Man charged with stealing Bedford Park, Illinois police car and USPS truck, causing crash that injured woman and 2 kids

A man has been charged with stealing a police cruiser in Bedford Park, Illinois, and then carjacking a U.S. Postal Service worker for her mail truck, before causing a crash that injured a woman and her two children.

Miguel Alvarado, 36, is charged with vehicular hijacking, possession of a stolen law enforcement vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, aggravated reckless driving, reckless driving, and failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, according to Cook County court records.

Police said he stole a Bedford Park police squad car on Wednesday, and then abandoning it on railroad tracks near 97th and Avon in Chicago Heights.

Alvarado later carjacked a U.S. Postal Service driver, dragging her out of her postal truck and punching her in the face before driving off, according to court records.

He then crashed the stolen postal truck into a car in Bridgeview, injuring a woman and her two sons, ages 7 and 4, according to court records. The two children were still in the hospital on Friday.

Alvarado was scheduled to make his first court appearance on Friday morning, but information on that hearing was not immediately available Friday afternoon.