By JAMES FORD and SHELLEY NG wpix.com

9:50 a.m. EDT, July 19, 2010
WASHINGTON HEIGHTS (WPIX)—
Two police officers are hospitalized and one man is under arrest after he literally had a run-in with the cops.

According to the NYPD, the unidentified man drove the wrong way down a one way Manhattan street, crashing head-on into a police cruiser that he was apparently trying to escape.

The crash happened on West 177th Street near St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights around 4:30 a.m.

Police say the man was trying to break into another car when officers in a cruiser spotted him. They say he hopped into his dark-colored minivan and tried to escape the patrol officers.

He drove east on 177th Street, which runs west-bound. Police did not disclose the speed of the impact of the head-on crash, but it crumpled the front ends of both vehicles.

EMTs took the minivan driver to a local hospital, where police took him into custody. They have not said what charges the man will face.

The two police officers were treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.