In a bizarre turn of events, a man accused of theft escalated to a high-stakes crime spree involving a stolen police squad car, and subsequently, a U.S. Postal Service truck in Bridgeview. The shocking series of events, culminating in a car crash, has left a mother and her two young children hospitalized.

The suspect's initial arrest was for disorderly conduct in Bedford Park, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. But the situation quickly devolved after he allegedly commandeered a police car, and, after it became disabled near Chicago Ridge or Oak Lawn. He then forced a postal worker from their truck and took control of the vehicle. Ray Hanania, a spokesperson for Bridgeview, relayed that the mail carrier was in the vehicle during the theft.

The chaotic drive ended on Roberts Road where the stolen postal truck collided with another vehicle at around 3:30 p.m. The occupants—a woman and her two children, aged 4 and 7—were immediately taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where "their conditions were stabilized," Hanania detailed in a statement obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.

Following the crash, police apprehended the suspect, whose identity has not yet been disclosed. While the extent of the family's injuries is still unclear, investigations are actively underway concerning the series of vehicle thefts, including a federal investigation due to the involvement of a postal truck. This was according to details shared by Hanania with WGN-TV.