Police are looking for a man accused of stealing a truck in Newark New Jersey and then leading officers on a high-speed chase through Jersey City, NJ.
According to law enforcement, Jersey City police officers were sent to the west side of Jersey City around 6:00 a.m. after workers at a Ford auto maintenance depot reported seeing a suspicious vehicle parked nearby.
When police officers got to the store, which is located on the corner of Williams Avenue and Bennett Street in Jersey City, they saw the suspect using a black Dodge pick-up truck to push a Ford truck.
When the police officers turned on their emergency lights, the suspect allegedly switched vehicles and drove away. The suspect drove at a “very high rate of speed” and hopped the curb while heading south on Bennett Street.
Police chased the suspect down Virginia Avenue and onto Route 440. Eventually, the suspect allegedly made an illegal left turn and traveled west on the Route 1&9 Lincoln Highway Bridge.
At one point, the suspect collided with another motorist and slammed on his brakes. A pursuing police car then hit the rear of the suspect’s truck, causing minor damage to the police vehicle.
The suspect reportedly hit the gas and drove off in the direction of Kearny, New Jersey. Police officers chose not to continue their pursuit “because of civilian and officer safety.”
Thankfully, nobody suffered a serious injury as a result of the car accident.
Later, Jersey City police ran a check on the truck’s license plate and learned that the vehicle was reported stolen out of Newark, NJ.
If the suspect is ultimately identified and captured, he would probably be subject to serious criminal charges for auto theft and eluding police. It is also likely that the suspect would be issued citations for several traffic violations, including reckless driving.
For more information about this case, check out the NJ.com article, “Stolen Truck from Newark Leads Cops on Chase through Jersey City, Police Say.”