Officer hurt in South Phila. hit-and-run

A police officer was injured Monday night by a hit-and-run driver in South Philadelphia, police said.

At 6:32 p.m., 17th District officers responded to a call about a person with a weapon in the 2600 block of Federal Street, said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

Witnesses pointed to a young man who then jumped into a Volkswagen Passat and backed up at high speed, Small said.

Police pursued by vehicle and on foot. One officer encountered the Passat going the wrong way in the 2700 block of Sears Street and was struck.

The officer, 26, was thrown into the windshield of a parked Chrysler, then rolled over the roof and landed in the street, Small said.

The impact left a head-sized hole in the windshield.

Residents rendered aid to the officer, including putting a towel on his bloodied head until other officers arrived and transported him to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

The officer suffered a broken left leg, a shattered knee cap, and a large gash in his head, Small said. The officer was undergoing a CAT scan at the hospital to check for further head injuries.

The Passat was found at 22d and Ellsworth Streets, where the suspect abandoned the car and ran away. Police found an 18-year-old woman and 11-year-old boy inside the car. They were taken to South Detectives to be questioned.

They told investigators that the suspect was a family acquaintance they had known for about a year, police said.

The suspect, described only as a 26-year-old man, remained at large as of late Tuesday morning.