A Denver police cruiser involved in an authorized chase collided with a vehicle carrying a mother and child about 3 p.m. Friday near near South Colorado Boulevard and Cherry Creek Drive South.

Both the woman and the child escaped serious injury, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said.

Police said the officer had attempted to apprehend a suspect near Congress Park. The man, who was wanted on a warrant out of Arapahoe County, escaped, and because the warrant was for a violent crime, the officer was authorized to pursue the suspect.

While trying to execute a maneuver to stop the fleeing suspect, the officer’s cruiser hit the uninvolved vehicle.

Crews from the Denver Fire Department used the “jaws of life” to remove the top half of the victim’s car to get the woman and child out. The occupants and the officer were taken to a hospital as a precaution and later released.

The suspect was believed to have ditched his car and fled. For a short time, motorists were warned to avoid the area during the manhunt. Jackson said the suspect was caught about two hours later near Sixth Avenue and Broadway.

The suspect, Craig Dickson, 27, will spend the night in the Denver Detention Center on eluding and drug charges. He will later have to address the open warrant.

Court records show he has an open warrant that was filed on New Year’s Eve for kidnapping charges. Court records also show another warrant out of Adams County.