Woman injured after vehicle hit by patrol cruiser in pursuit

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- A woman was slightly injured Monday when the car she was driving was hit by an Oklahoma Highway Patrol cruiser pursuing a stolen car, authorities said.

Kelvin L. Ford, 18, faces two felony and three misdemeanor charges, the Tulsa County District Attorney's Office said.

Ford abandoned the stolen vehicle but left a wallet with a form of identification in the car, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol Lt. Stan Roberts.

Officials were confident that the wallet and ID found in the stolen car belonged to Ford because he looked like the picture on the ID.

Roberts said the chase began shortly after 8 a.m. after a trooper tried to pull over the car Ford was driving for traffic violations on Interstate 44.

He said Ford sped off and that the chase ended about two minutes later when the pursuing trooper's car hit a vehicle driven by Jerline Randles, who was treated for minor injuries at a hospital and released. The trooper was not injured.

Ford is charged with felony possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding an officer, as well as the misdemeanors of driving without a license, driving without an owners' security verification form and driving a vehicle with an improper license plate.

A state law that took effect July 1 makes it a felony to endanger others while attempting to elude police.