Car thief cools heels after a hot chase

A posse of police cars pursued a drunken car thief at high speed all the way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai in a Hollywood-style chase.

The fugitive was driving so dangerously, speeding through red lights, that the officers were given orders to shoot if necessary.

A police officer was injured when one of the fleet of patrol cars crashed during the chase, and at one point the fleeing Toyota Land Cruiser almost overturned.

The man pinched the four-wheel-drive vehicle when it was left with the engine running near the Traffic Police Headquarters, and sped towards Musaffah industrial area to dodge chasing police cars.

He later on sneaked out of the rugged narrow-laned area and headed towards Shahama and then to Samha in an apparent bid to reach Dubai.

Police later tracked the vehicle and several patrol cars chased him after he refused to stop and continued to jump red lights. As he reached Samha, one of the patrol cars shadowing him was involved in an accident in which a policeman was injured.

"Orders were given to the patrol cars to open fire if necessary because the thief was driving very fast to escape," said Lieutenant Hamad Mubarak Al Amiri, Director of the Investigation Section at the Abu Dhabi Traffic and Licencing Department.

"His car nearly turned over near Saih Al Shuwaib because of speed. But it later hit the pavement, causing injuries to the thief who was treated and arrested."

The statement did not identify the car thief.