Suspect crashes into tree just after daytime carjacking in Ajax, police say

A suspect crashed into a tree just after a carjacking in Ajax, before attempting and failing to steal two other vehicles, police say.

Durham Regional Police said that on Saturday at around 2:55 p.m., officers responded to a stolen-vehicle-in-progress call at a parking lot in the Bayly Street West and Kitney Drive area of Ajax, which is near Harwood Avenue South.

Police said the victim returned to his vehicle after going to a local business when he was approached by a male suspect, who demanded that the victim get out.

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The suspect allegedly also gestured that he had a weapon.

The suspect then fled in the vehicle before crashing into a tree a short distance away, police said.

A driver stopped to offer help after seeing the crash, but the suspect then attempted to carjack them, police said.

The attempt was unsuccessful and the suspect fled on foot, police said, before he allegedly attempted unsuccessfully to carjack a third person who had their car idling in a residential driveway.

Police had set up a perimeter and the suspect was arrested, officers said.

He was reported to have suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

A 20-year-old man from Toronto is facing 17 charges, including failing to comply with a release order.