PHOENIX — A driver who is accused of stealing a vehicle, crashing it in the Valley and leaving a child in the back seat is on the run early Wednesday.
According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the crash occurred near the Interstate 10 and Loop 202. The Phoenix Police Department said it occurred at the I-10 and Chandler Boulevard.
Officials said the driver then fled the scene after the crash, which occurred just after midnight on Wednesday morning.
A child was found in the back seat. The child's age and condition were not immediately known.
The Phoenix Police Department said officers responded to the area near 16th and Washington streets around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night for a stolen vehicle.
The victim, who was not immediately identified, said he left the car running and that it was stolen with a child in the back seat.
Officers found the vehicle about a mile down the road, at 24th and Monroe streets, and started following it.
The vehicle fled west on Van Buren Street and officers lost sight of it.
About 45 minutes later, DPS officers responded to a crash near Interstate 10 and Chandler Boulevard.
When they arrived, they found the child inside the vehicle and unharmed.
A suspect description was not immediately known. The driver has not been arrested as of Wednesday morning.
A Phoenix police officer was involved in an unrelated single vehicle rollover crash while responding to the call. They were treated at a local hospital for minor injuries and have since been released.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call police or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS or 480-TESTIGO.
This is a developing situation. Stay tuned to 12 News for the latest.
