Runaway van crashes into police car, two vehicles

In a police car chase, a fleeing motorist crashed into three vehicles including a police van, in Riyadh on Thursday.

The accident took place when a police patrol car was chasing a speeding motorist on a tip-off that an expatriate had taken a company vehicle early morning on Thursday.

The Rawdah police station received a warning call about a Sudanese expatriate who was working in a private establishment. The caller, told police that the errant man, one of his coworkers, came early to the office and took off with a Toyota Coaster van which was parked in the company premises. The caller decided to contact police for assistance since his co-workers movements looked suspicious.

Official sources said that during the chase the suspect crashed into two parked vehicles and subsequently knocked a moving police car in the area. The chasing police officers were compelled to stop the fleeing car by shooting at the wheels of the van to deflate the tires.

Police officers arrested the suspect after he was forced to leave the van, and kept him in their custody at the Rawdah police station. Authorities are conducting inquiries into the incident to find out the motives for the expatriate’s hurried run with a company vehicle.