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Original: A man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 6, after he stole an MBTA T-RIDE van with a passenger inside in Woburn and crashed trying to get away, authorities said.
The 34-year-old man stole the Ford Flex van, which transports people with disabilities, on Elm Street around 3:42 p.m., the transit authority said in a news release. Police believe the driver got out of the van to help a passenger and left the keys in the ignition, which allowed the man to jump in and speed off.
Police tracked the van down moments later at the O'Neill Tunnel. But when they tried to pull it over, the driver crashed into multiple vehicles and the tunnel wall while trying to escape, Massachusetts State Police said
The MBTA has not released the man's name.
Troopers lost sight of the vehicle as it headed toward I-93, and the chase was called off.
But that didn't last long. Police spotted the vehicle at Mercantile Street and Surface Road in Boston a few minutes later. Rather than try to speed away, the alleged carjacker jumped out and ran into the Bostonian Hotel, state police said.
Police searched the hotel and found him in a function room.
One of the passengers in the MBTA vehicle suffered a minor injury in the incident. No other injuries were reported.
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