KERNERSVILLE — A pair of crime suspects are recovering in a North Carolina hospital after being hit by a patrol car driven by a police chief rushing to the scene.

Police in the Forsyth County town of Kernersville say the men suffered injuries that don’t appear life threatening from being hit by the car driven by Police Chief Kenneth Gamble. Police say 29-year-old Brian Pegram and 33-year-old Anthony Sides, both of Kernersville, were already in custody at the side of the road when they were struck by Gamble’s late-arriving cruiser.

The police department says officers had stopped a suspicious vehicle on a highway when the suspects fled on foot and other officers were called to help search for them.

Pegram and Sides were taken to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center for treatment.