Police in the St. Louis County town of Ballwin are investigating after an alleged thief and the McDonald's worker who chased him out of the restaurant were both hit by cars.

It happened about 5:15 a.m. Wednesday. Authorities say a worker was charging her cellphone during a break and noticed it was missing. The manager looked at surveillance tape and saw that the customer who took the phone was still in the restaurant.

Police say the customer agreed to give it back but shoved the employee, took the battery and SIM card and ran.

A third employee gave chase. She was struck by a car and the alleged thief was clipped by another car. He tried to run but was caught by police. The worker is hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.