Police chase ends in fiery crash in East Orange, NJ; suspects at large
EAST ORANGE, New Jersey (WABC) -- A brief police chase involving a stolen car ended in a fiery crash in East Orange early Tuesday morning.
The crash happened shortly before 6 a.m. at Springdale and Midland Avenues.
Video from NewsCopter 7 over the scene showed an East Orange Police patrol vehicle and a stolen gray 2011 BMW sedan which had collided in the intersection.
Both vehicles suffered heavy damage and smoke was pouring from the engine of BMW.
The officer in the patrol vehicle suffered minor injuries and was taken to University Hospital in Newark to be checked out.
Three suspects in the vehicle fled the crash scene on foot. No arrests were immediately made.
One resident said the crash was loud and woke up the whole neighborhood. He looked out his window and saw three car doors open before the young men ran across the street to go into his neighbor's yard where they hid.
"I honestly think it's gonna get worse - these kids have less respect than before," a landlord said.
Another neighbor said she knows all too well that stolen cars fly through neighborhoods like theirs -- running red lights and stop signs.
"I stop at every cross street because you never know who's gonna come flying through, I've seen it before and if I didn't slow down, I would be gone too," the neighbor said.
She warned others to watch and look at every intersection -- even ones with stop lights or stop signs.
A spokesperson for East Orange Police told Eyewitness News the chase began in Livingston and was picked up by Newark Police before ending in East Orange.
Police chases have become increasingly common across Essex County amid a surge in luxury car thefts.
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