‘Driverless’ stolen pickup crashes into south Wichita garage

A deputy caught an auto-theft suspect in south Wichita after he jumped from the stolen pickup, but it continued on and crashed into a garage, causing $8,800 in damage, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.

The incident happened shortly after midnight Tuesday when the deputy tried to stop the stolen pickup near Patterson and Wichita, the office said, which is near Broadway and 31st Street South.

The driver jumped from the vehicle and ran off as the pickup continued on. Although the deputy managed to subdue the suspect after deploying a Taser, the driverless pickup continued west on Patterson and smashed into a garage in the 3300 block of South Waco, a statement said.

The impact damaged the garage and a car inside.

The suspect, a 31-year-old Wichita man, was booked into jail on suspicion of stolen-property, drug-possession and traffic-related charges, the office said.

This story was originally published March 4, 2015 at 11:38 AM with the headline "‘Driverless’ stolen pickup crashes into south Wichita garage."