Three Stolen Vehicles, a Carjacking, Crash and Police Chase

Early Saturday morning just after 5am, Rye PD was one of a handful of local police departments involved in an incident with three stolen vehicles, a carjacking, crash and police chase.

The punchline, for all our readers, is to lock your cars. Not only can unlocked cars be stolen, and have items taken from inside, but as was the case Saturday, an unlocked car with a key fob inside was stolen by a suspect and then used to evade police.

“At 5:20 a.m., Harrison patrol officers identified a stolen vehicle being operated on Westchester Avenue near lower Purchase Street,” Harrison PD reported on social media. “Officers attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver fled, leading us on a pursuit along Purchase Street and into Rye and Port Chester.”

“In Port Chester, the driver lost control and crashed the stolen car. The driver ran toward an occupied vehicle, which fled because officers were approaching. The suspect was then able to force a woman out of her car and flee in her vehicle. He subsequently lost control of that vehicle, striking multiple objects along the roadside. He ran from that car, which subsequently caught on fire.”

At this point, Rye, Harrison, Port Chester and Westchester County Police all initiated a search for the suspect, who eluded capture after a short foot pursuit. It appears the suspect was able to find an unlocked car with the fob inside and use it to leave the area. That car was recovered later in the day in West Haven, Conn.

The car that caught on fire after being carjacked in Port Chester was put out by the Rye Fire Department. “Rye Firefighters made quick work of a Motor Vehicle Accident with Car Fire and fluid spill this morning,” Rye FD said on social media Saturday. “Firefighters stretched a hand line off Engine 191 and extinguished the vehicle and a good amount of magnesium burning from the front end. The fluids were contained and the scene was turned over to (Rye PD).”

This incident began with a car stolen in Connecticut where it was left unlocked and unattended with the engine running.

Again: lock your cars!

See available photos:

Photos courtesy of Rye PD, Rye FD, Harrison PD.