From PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3):
A suspect is in critical condition after becoming impaled on a metal fence while trying to elude officers in South Philadelphia Thursday evening.

Police said the incident began near 22nd and Reed Streets when 19-year-old Tony Burrell, riding an all-terrain vehicle, crashed into a cop car and fled the scene on foot.

Burrell ran down an alleyway with officers in pursuit. As he tried to climb over a seven foot iron gate, he became impaled on six inch spikes. The officer's pursuit quickly turned into a life-saving mission.

After an hour, rescue crews used a saw to remove parts of the medal posts and Burrell was taken to the hospital with pieces of the gate still lodged in his abdomen.

Family members blamed his predicament on police, claiming the officers pulled on his leg.

"I ain't never saw that in my life. I ain't never saw somebody hung on a gate," said Collette Mullins, the suspect's aunt.

Burrell, a scofflaw with at least 20 warrants out for his arrest, was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the lodged fence.

Friday morning he remained in critical condition, but doctors said he is expected to recover.

The incident remains under investigation.