Man Steals FedEx Truck, Leads Philly Police On Wild Chase
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A man was arrested after police say he stole a FedEx delivery truck and led police on chase in Philadelphia Thursday afternoon.
The incident began at about 1 p.m. at Ridge and Lehigh Avenues.
According to investigators, the suspect stole a FedEx truck at that location and then led police on a pursuit.
The driver eventually ended up crashing the truck at 25th and Willard Streets in the city's Nicetown section. The truck ended up wedged between a utility pole and a fence in the rear of a home.
"That was a big boom, you know, it was loud, it was loud. And look he knocked down the whole pole, he could have killed somebody," neighbor Bernadette McCord said.
Police say that suspect had gotten behind the wheel of the truck, as the driver was making a delivery inside a home. Racing for more than a mile, through streets, before crashing, alongside of Freedom Accord's home.
(Reporter:) What did you think when you saw that?
"How the hell did that happen," she said.
An eyewitness, Vera Green adds, "This truck just came up really fast and I said, 'Oh my goodness' and boom, it was a loud crash."
During the pursuit, the suspect clipped several parked cars with the FedEx truck.
But after jumping from the van, the dazed suspect got an unpleasant surprise. As he tried to run off, angry neighbors began chasing him down the street as police were closing in.
"Once he hit, he was kind of disarrayed, because he hit that pole kind of hard. So when he got out, he wasn't in the best running condition because he was shook up. So then we ran and chased him down," neighbor James McCord said.
Fortunately neighbors say the stolen boxes, including holiday gifts, will now be delivered to the rightful recipients -- while the suspect gets sent to a jail cell.
"I'm glad they did catch him because there could be Christmas gifts, people ordering stuff, you know, it is Christmas time people don't have no money to be losing out like that," neighbor Bernadette McCord said.
Utility crews continue to make repairs at the accident scene Thursday night. Police are crediting neighbors in Nicetown with helping them chase the suspect down the street, where he was eventually caught in an abandoned house.
The suspect still has not been identified.
There were no reports of any injuries.
The incident remains under investigation.
