Crime

Distracted Pokémon Go Player Side-Swipes Police Car

Charges are pending against the driver, a police spokeswoman tells PEOPLE

Published on July 20, 2016 12:45 PM

A Baltimore man side-swiped a police cruiser early Monday, apparently because he was distracted while playing Pokémon Go, according to dramatic video from the scene.

Baltimore police had just finished responding to a call about 3:30 a.m. local time, when a Toyota RAV4 smashed into the rear side of one of their cruisers, authorities said in releasing footage from the crash. The video was captured by a body camera from one of the three officers next to the car.

Neither the officers at the scene nor the occupants of the crashing SUV were injured, a Baltimore police spokeswoman tells PEOPLE.

Moments after the crash, according to the video, officers approach the Toyota, which stopped further down the road. “You guys okay?” an officer asks.

The driver steps out of his car and flashes his phone screen to the officer, apparently displaying the popular augmented reality app.

“That’s what I get for playing this dumb a– game,” the driver says in the video.

• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Pokémon Go: 4 Things to Avoid When Trying to Catch ‘Em All

“Are you okay?” the driver says to police. “I’m so sorry.”

Charges against him are pending, the police spokeswoman says, adding that a timeline for when they will be brought depend on the officer.

The spokesperson would not identify the driver or specify which charges are pending. She says the driver was not cited or arrested at the scene.

The Monday incident is the latest in a string of cases in which Pokémon Go players have been injured, robbed and even arrested while playing the game, which encourages players to explore the outdoors in order to catch the titular creatures.

Duvall, Washington, police Sgt. Lori Batiot recently told PEOPLE, “I think some people really do lose sight of, as fun as this is and as awesome as it is a game to play, it’s not real and humans are.”