Australian carjack suspect who escaped from hospital captured

March 18, 2010 04:17 pm | Updated 04:17 pm IST - PERTH

An Australian man who allegedly crashed a stolen car during a high—speed police chase and then fled from a hospital where he was treated for injuries was captured on Thursday after a massive police search.

More than 100 police officers tracked Colin Bradley Little, 22, to the backyard of a suburban home, police said. He was charged with more than 20 offenses including aggravated armed robbery for allegedly stealing cars during an hours-long pursuit on Wednesday.

“He didn’t surrender peacefully - he was captured on the run,” Western Australia state police spokesman Sgt. Graham Clifford, told The Associated Press.

After Little’s initial capture on Wednesday, he was admitted to a hospital under guard for treatment of injuries. But on Thursday, as he was being taken out of the hospital in a wheelchair, he jumped up and fled, police said.

Two guards were escorting Little when he escaped but he wasn’t handcuffed, Mr. Clifford said.

Police said Little and a 21—year—old woman stole a car on Wednesday after threatening its occupants with a hammer. During an ensuing pursuit by police, Little forced the driver out of another car and tried to do the same with three others, police said.

The chase ended when Little rammed a police cruiser and flipped over the stolen car, police said.

A video of the chase shows a car, allegedly driven by Little, zigzagging around traffic, darting past a police blockade and careening off the road into a park. At that point, a man jumps out, races into the street, forces a driver of another car out of his vehicle, and jumps in. The man then nearly runs over a police officer before driving off again.

The woman accused of being Little’s accomplice was arrested and was to appear in court on Thursday on two counts of stealing a motor vehicle.

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