DENVER — The driver of a stolen tractor-trailer in Colorado deliberately rammed into vehicles and caused numerous injuries before finally being taken into custody by police, who fired on the rig in an effort to stop the rampage, authorities said Sunday.
Five people including a Fort Morgan police officer were injured as the tractor-trailer careened through communities in northeastern Colorado as law enforcement pursued it for more than 20 miles, Morgan County Sheriff Jim Crone told The Associated Press.
“He was definitely aiming at people. I don’t know if it was in desperation to get away or he decided he was going to take people with him,” Crone said. “He wasn’t trying to scare people. He was trying to hurt people.”
The events began about 10 p.m. Saturday night when the stolen tractor-trailer was spotted in Logan County and pursued by police through the communities of Brush and Fort Morgan, he said.
Officers fired at the rig at least twice and possibly up to four times, Crone said, adding that the driver was hit in the head and arm by bullet fragments but kept driving.
Authorities say the suspect eventually jumped from the tractor-trailer, which by then was badly damaged, and ran into a house where he was taken into custody.
None of the injuries were reported to be serious. Ten vehicles were damaged. Four of those, including the patrol cars, were destroyed, Crone said.
The suspect, whose name was not released, was treated for his injuries and booked into jail. Crone said the man is in his late 20s to early 30s and was known to law enforcement. He declined to give further details.
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