Stolen car crashes into Bensalem 7-Eleven after striking police vehicle; five in custody

Five people were detained Thursday afternoon after a vehicle reported stolen from Philadelphia smashed into the front of a 7-Eleven in Bensalem Township, Bucks County, according to police accounts reported by several Philadelphia-area outlets.

The incident began when Bensalem Township officers tried to make a traffic stop, police said. Rather than pulling over, the driver hit a township police car and a second vehicle, then sped away, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS Philadelphia, 6abc and NBC10. NBC10 characterized the pursuit as a chase.

Police said the driver lost control shortly afterward and ran into the convenience store at the corner of Street Road and Brookwood Drive. 6abc located the store on the 1600 block of Street Road, while NBC10 listed its address as 1644 Street Road.

According to police, five people had been riding in the car, and three of them fled on foot after the impact. The Inquirer and 6abc reported that all five were taken into custody, including the three who ran. CBS Philadelphia said the five were eventually found, and NBC10 reported that officers relied on multiple drones in the search. As of NBC10's report, police had not identified the five people, and no specific charges had been announced in the coverage.

NBC10 said it received a bystander's phone recording in which a police officer can be seen pinning someone to the ground. The man who filmed it told the station that a neighbor alerted him to the crash, that he then saw two people running in different directions, and that a passerby tackled one of them just before officers arrived in large numbers.

Police told NBC10 that nobody was hurt.

Helicopter footage aired by 6abc showed extensive damage, with a section of the storefront wrecked. Both CBS Philadelphia and NBC10 reported that a tow truck hauled the car out of the building at about 4 p.m. The store is expected to stay closed for several weeks, NBC10 reported.

The Inquirer reported that police are still investigating.

Compiled by True News from reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer, CBS Philadelphia, 6abc Action News and NBC10 Philadelphia. Each outlet's original story is linked below.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/592