St Joseph Police are investigating two vehicle thefts Wednesday morning, and they believe the same suspect may have been responsible for both.

Sergeant Steve Smith says a Mitsubishi was stolen from a residence in the 3000 block of Cambridge sometime before 6:30am Wednesday. That vehicle was later found crashed on I-229.

During a police pursuit, the vehicle was damaged by spike strips laid down by officers. That pursuit continued along St Joseph Avenue, and the suspects drove past loaded school buses despite the tire damage.

Police terminated the pursuit for safety reasons under departmental policy. But, a short time later, a Buchanan County deputy found the vehicle had crashed on the Interstate-229 near mile marker 4.6.

Sergeant Smith says another vehicle was subsequently stolen from a home in the 2200 block of South Seventh Street. Two deputies searching for the suspect in the first theft were nearly run over by that second stolen vehicle. They were not injured.

The second stolen vehicle was last seen heading southbound on 10th Street.

So far, police have made no arrests.