Police: Suspect arrested after crashing truck into bus stop, injuring teen

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A pursuit led to a fiery mess on a Phoenix street Tuesday, according to Phoenix Police.

According to officials, a 17-year-old was seriously hurt after a burglary suspect stole a pickup truck and rammed it into a bus stop where the teen was waiting for a bus. The incident happened at around 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, near 19th Avenue and Bell Road.

"We're eating inside the IHOP, and we heard a big crash," said witness Bob Carter. "I thought it was somebody dropping plates or something like that."

It didn't take long, however, for Carter and others to realize it was a serious situation that unfolded outside. According to Phoenix Police officials, the suspect, identified Wednesday morning as 33-year-old Matthew Jennings, stole the truck and took off westbound along Bell Road. Near 19th Avenue, police say the suspect took out a bus stop, where the 17-year-old was waiting to catch the bus.

The teen, according to police, suffered serious injuries.

"And then, everybody was trying to help the guy that was underneath there, and they waited 'till the fire department out there to help lift up the bus stop," said Carter.

Police say Jennings continued to evade police, slamming into another truck until the pickup truck Jennings was in caught fire.

Viewer video shows the dramatic scene, as firefighters rush to put out the fire. According to witness at the scene, the suspect got out of the truck and ran into the grounds of a car dealership in the area, where police was able to arrest him.

"As soon as he hit that, no more than 10 seconds later, there must have bene four or five police cars that fley by," said Carter. "A couple of them stopped over here to see if anybody was injured. THe rest chased him down and because of the damage, he couldn't go any further."