PHILADELPHIA -
Police say a woman was behind the wheel of a Philadelphia police cruiser as she led officers on a wild, high speed chase through the streets of Fishtown and Kensington, leaving damaged cars in her wake.
It all came to an end in the 1100 block of Hope street, where she was promptly arrested and taken away.
"She got out almost like she was running for it, but she wasn't really going and the cops grabbed her and took her into custody," said witness Mike Nahas in Fishtown.
"Very volatile situation. A lot of people could have got hurt, fortunately they were not," said Deputy Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross.
Police now say 23-year-old Shayna Sykes got behind the wheel of the Philadelphia cop car after she and 24-year-old Blake Bills stole a Camden Police car near police headquarters.
That's when Bills allegedly ran over a Camden officer.
They lead police across the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philly, investigators said. With officers in hot pursuit and Bills behind the wheel. The Camden cop car crashed at 7th and Norris, where officers moved to arrest Bills.
"She's able to break loose, she then gets in one of our vehicles and that's when the pursuit starts," Ross explained at a morning news conference.
"Absolutely crazy and it's daylight, so early you would never think any of this would go down right now," said Ben Ruben of Fishtown.
Surveillance video from Evelean's Grocery shows a dozen police cars in pursuit down 6th Street minutes before the chase ended in Fishtown. Police say one woman dove out of the way of the stolen police car and suffered minor injuries. Several cars were damaged. Police hauled Bills off to jail and said it was a miracle this didn't end in tragedy.
"You're talking about some very reckless individuals. I never heard of anybody stealing two police cars in the same incident," Ross added.
"Thank God no one got hurt," Ruben said.
"I mean bold, it's just reckless and absolutely crazy," Ross said.
Bills and Sykes are in police custody in Philadelphia, where they will face a long list of charges including, risking a catastrophe and DUI. They will be taken back to Camden to face even more charges, possibly including the attempted murder of a police officer.
The woman involved in a Tuesday morning chase is taken into custody by police in Philadelphia.
Seconds after the stolen police car pulls over, officers are seen approaching the cruiser.
Shayna Sykes, 23, is held down by police seconds after a high-speed chase ends in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood.
