Portland police said a woman stole a U.S. Postal Service truck and took it on a joyride before flipping it, “emerging shirtless," then leading officers on a 12-block foot chase.

Officers responded to the Centennial neighborhood just after noon Thursday to reports of a stolen mail truck. One mile north of the alleged heist, the woman smashed into a TriMet paratransit LIFT bus. TriMet confirmed the crash and said three people were on board, but no one was seriously injured.

The woman drove north on Northeast 162nd Avenue for another mile before flipping the truck and crashing near Northeast 155th Avenue and Fremont Street due to her “erratic driving behavior,” police said.

Lt. Brad Yakots, a police spokesman, said the woman was wearing a blue jacket when she allegedly stole the government vehicle. “She emerged from the flipped truck shirtless and tried to run away from officers,” he said.

Police said officers responded and chased the woman, who was shirtless, and ultimately took her into custody after the pursuit through the Wilkes neighborhood.

The woman was uninjured but was taken to a hospital “due to her drug-induced behavior,” a police spokesman said in an email.

Yakots said the woman has not been booked into custody yet so police aren’t releasing her name.

Gresham police and the United States Postal Inspector are helping with the investigation.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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