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Attempted Car Thief Gets Away After Running Over Other Suspect

DENVER (CBS4) - Police are looking for an attempted car thief after a violent incident Tuesday morning in Southwest Denver.

The crime happened sometime before 6 a.m. near the intersection of South Utica Street and West Dakota Avenue.

Police told CBS4 two men arrived at the scene in a Chevy Tahoe and got out and approached a black Chevy Avalanche that was running. The men then allegedly tried to carjack the vehicle but the driver was able to fight them off.

"The suspects saw what they believed to be a puffer," said Detective John White, referring to a car that the owner leaves running to warm it up while they are still inside a house. "As the two suspects approached the car they soon figured out that it was not a puffer; there was a person inside the vehicle. They still attempted to carjack the vehicle by grabbing the victim and attempting to pull him out of the vehicle, which they did."

Once outside the car, a fight took place. During the fight the driver of the Avalanche no longer had control of the SUV and it crashed into and heavily damaged a parked car, sending it across the sidewalk and into a fence.

Dakota Car Theft
(credit: CBS)

"It's early in the investigation and there are a lot of questions still to be answered," White said.

Police said the person in the Avalanche was hurt during the fight and taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

One of the suspects also was injured when the other suspect in the Chevy Tahoe ran him over while trying to flee the scene. That suspect is in the hospital listed in serious condition.

Police wound up finding the Chevy Tahoe in Northwest Denver but haven't found the man who drove off from the crime scene in it.

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