PHILADELPHIA -
Two police cars were stolen, one officer was injured and two people are under arrest after an unbelievable high-speed pursuit that began in Camden and ended in Philadelphia.
It all began with a Tuesday morning traffic stop at 9:49 a.m. at Haddon and Federal streets in Camden, near police headquarters. A yellow Jeep was stopped for an illegal right turn on red.
Camden police said an officer was writing a ticket for the operator of that vehicle when he heard the open door of his cruiser shut, went back to it and found two people -- who were not involved in the traffic stop -- inside his cruiser.
According to Philadelphia police, those two people were identified as 24-year-old Blake Bills and 23-year-old Shayna Sykes. Investigators say they are both from Macungie, Pennsylvania.
Police say the two will face DUI, Resisting arrest and other charges in Philadelphia. Additional charges are expected to be filed in Camden, police said.
The officer has since been identified as 49-year-old Sekou Reid-Bey, FOX 29's Claudia Gomez reports.
Reid-Bey, a 16-year veteran of the force, was struck by the cruiser, went up over the hood and was left in the middle of a busy intersection. Police said he rolled to the roadside and continued radioing for backup.
The officer, who was not identified, has been hospitalized in stable condition, although he has serious injuries to his legs, police said.
The stolen cruiser was driven around on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River for approximately 10 minutes, police said, before it crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia. Preliminary reports indicate a man was driving, and a woman was his passenger.
The cruiser turned up Fifth Street, and Philly police picked up the chase around 10:05 a.m. Officials actually wound up calling off the pursuit briefly, due to concern for the safety of nearby residents.
At some point, in the area of Seventh and Norris streets, Philly police stopped the cruiser. But the woman apparently managed to break free and steal a 26th District police car, fleeing again.
That second cruiser was chased, and SkyFOX was overhead as it struck one pedestrian on the roadway, hit a moving box truck, tore through traffic lights and stop signs, went over curbs, swerved around poles and more.
The cruiser even started to catch fire before it wrecked on the 1100 block of Hope Street. The female driver was then swarmed by officers and taken into custody.
Police said the pedestrian who was struck in Philadelphia is being treated for minor injuries.
Philadelphia Deputy Police Commissioner Richard Ross praised his officers' work to make the apprehensions and said of the incident, "You're talking about some very reckless individuals. I mean, I've never heard of anybody stealing tow police cars in the same incident."
Officers called the Tuesday morning chase a "very volatile situation" and said many people could have been injured. In a Tuesday afternoon press conference, police credited responding officers for using strong judgement during the chase.
Stay with FOX 29 News and MyFOXPhilly.com for more on this breaking news story.
