Man drove wrong way on I-77, stole CMPD SUV before crashing near Northlake Mall

CHARLOTTE — A man was arrested Wednesday night after he robbed a store, led police on a chase and stole a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department SUV before crashing near the Northlake Mall, police said.

>> Reading this story in our app? The new “Follow the Lead” feature allows you to tap the blue tag indicated with a ’+' to subscribe to alerts on the very latest breaking news updates.

Police said the man, whose name has not yet been released, robbed an AT&T store at gunpoint in Gaston County earlier Wednesday evening.

CMPD officers later spotted the vehicle near Remount and Brookhill roads and tried to stop it. The driver refused to pull over and police began chasing the vehicle at about 8 p.m. The suspect then got onto Interstate 77 driving north in the southbound lanes. Because of the dangerous conditions, CMPD backed off and stopped chasing him.

Police said the man drove the wrong way on I-77 all the way to the W.T. Harris Boulevard exit. But before getting off the interstate, he crashed into a guardrail.

The man then ran to the Perimeter Lofts Apartments across from the Northlake Mall, police said.

CMPD’s helicopter tracked the suspect to the apartments, where a K-9 officer confronted him. During a brief struggle, the suspect overpowered the officer, stole the marked CMPD SUV and dragged the officer about 50 to 75 feet before crashing into a parked car, according to investigators.

The officer suffered minor injuries and the K-9 was not in the SUV and not harmed, police said.

The suspect then drove out of the apartment complex in the stolen police vehicle before crashing into another car about a block away, on Northlake West Boulevard. Police said the person in that car was taken to the hospital but their injures were not serious.

After the collision, the suspect then drove the out of control police SUV down a steep embankment and into the woods, where he surrendered.

He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, according to CMPD.

Check back with wsoctv.com for updates on this story.

Cox Media Group