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Pittsburgh carjack suspect dies while fleeing
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Pittsburgh police said the driver of a stolen car who later died after jumping into the Allegheny River Wednesday night turned the wrong way down Fort Duquesne Boulevard, Downtown, and crashed with another vehicle near Stanwix Street.
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A suspect in a carjacking died after he jumped into the Allegheny River following a police pursuit that weaved through Downtown Pittsburgh Wednesday night.
Pittsburgh police were not immediately releasing the suspect's name or age.
Cmdr. Eric Holmes, with the city's Zone 2 station in the Hill District, said narcotics and vice detectives spotted a gray Ford Taurus that was stolen Monday night during a carjacking on 39th Street in Lawrenceville and began pursuing it as it drove on Liberty Avenue toward Downtown about 8:40 p.m.
Officers from the city's Zone 2 station and Zone 1 station on the North Side joined in the chase as it weaved through Downtown streets.
Police said the driver of the stolen car turned the wrong way down Fort Duquesne Boulevard and crashed with another vehicle near the intersection with Stanwix Street.
Witnesses said the driver ran toward a wall, jumped over it and landed on a construction trailer sitting on the 10th Street Bypass, dropping a gun before he jumped into the Allegheny River.
River Rescue divers pulled the man out of the water and transported him in critical condition to Allegheny General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the commander said.
Cmdr. Holmes said two other males, whose ages he did not know, where in the car with the driver and were also transported to a local hospital to receive treatment.
One of those men was in a wheelchair.
Police said they intend to interview those men to determine whether they were involved in the carjacking.
The commander said one person who was in the car that was struck on Fort Duquesne Boulevard suffered minor injuries.
Homicide detectives are aiding in the investigation.
"You don't see this every day," the commander said.
First Published November 8, 2012 12:00 am
