Suspect rams Houston TV news crew, steals police car

HOUSTON, Texas - A man crashed a car into a TV news van and then stole a police car in Houston.

Police said the man rammed the side of the KPRC news van early Monday morning while the crew was waiting for the Astros to return from Boston. He tried to carjack the reporter and photographer.

A Houston police officer who was in the area saw the crash and stopped to help. The female officer believed it was an accident. But the man fought with her and then stole her police car.

The suspect took off in the squad car, which had a handcuffed juvenile prisoner in the back seat. He let the prisoner go a few blocks down the street and abandoned the car several miles away.

The reporter, photographer and police officer were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The suspect is still on the run.

KPRC reporter Sofia Ojeda talked about what happened in a live video just after it happened.

“We were just hit by an alleged drunk driver and then he tried to steal our Channel 2 live truck!!!,” she wrote.