Police spent the night trying to piece together a bust that somehow went terribly wrong.
Undercover Piscataway detectives came to a short-term motel in /*Linden*/ that promises romantic nights to try and make an arrest.
But the suspect did not go quietly.
"I heard, pop, pop, pop, pop, real fast, it sounded like fireworks at first," an eyewitness said.
It was not fireworks. Shots were fired, glass was shattering and the suspect apparently tried to get away.
"Gunshots, then it sounded like a car hit four or five cars and more gunshots," witness Jose Watkins said.
"The suspect drove at the detectives, supposedly running over one of the detective's feet," Linden police Lieutenant James Sarnicki said. "And at that time, the officers opened fire onto the suspect's vehicle."
But the suspect still didn't stop.
He drove south on Routes 1 & 9 and crashed about a half mile away.
Police later found a gun at that second scene.
The driver had been shot in the face, and he was taken by medivac to a nearby hospital.
"It was really dramatic," a witness said. "The guy didn't want to stop. He didn't want to stop, he wanted to leave. He didn't want to stop."
The suspect is listed in critical condition.
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