A crash involving a Colorado Springs police vehicle that shut down South Academy at Airport Road for several hours Friday night happened after police tried to pull over a carjacking suspect, police said. 

Shortly after 5 p.m., Colorado Springs police said an armed man reportedly attempted to steal the car of an employee at a business near the 3900 block of North Academy Boulevard, just south of Austin Bluffs Parkway. Police said the man demanded the employee’s keys, and threatened to shoot him if he didn’t give them to him. When the employee refused, the suspect allegedly assaulted him and fled on food. 

About an hour later, police said a man matching the description of the suspect carjacked a Toyota 4Runner at the Citadel Mall. Gazette news partner KKTV reports that man was reportedly armed with a shotgun. 

Shortly after receiving the call, police spotted the stolen Toyota heading south on South Academy Boulevard, and attempted to pull it over. The vehicle fled and pursuing officers used a PIT maneuver to end the pursuit, resulting in a crash that stopped the stolen vehicle and caused the police vehicle to flip on to its side, KKTV reports.

Three patrol officers sustained minor injuries from the crash. 

The suspect, identified by police as 33-year-old Gabriel Duran, was arrested  on suspicion of robbery, attempted robbery, theft, menacing, motor vehicle theft, and multiple traffic offenses.