https://youtu.be/NItmwZATrug
A Newark man has been identified as the driver of this morning's police pursuit that started in Union and ended in a crash in Elizabeth.
According to police, officers were in the area of Walker Avenue near William Street at approximately 3:22 a.m. investigating a robbery.
At the scene, police spoke to the 42-year-old female victim, who told police that after walking away from her parked car, a silver car pulled up to her and a passenger got out. The passenger walked up to her and demanded her possessions and held his hand in his pocket to imply that he was armed with a gun.
The victim was scared and began to back away, but the suspect punched the woman in the face and knocked her to the ground.
He pulled the victims purse and made an attempt to take her cell phone, but he was scared off when she screamed.
The suspect returned to the car and fled the scene.
The victim described the suspect as a young, light skinned black male, about 5 feet 6 inches tall.
With recent carjackings in Newark and a recent robbery near the
Maplewood, Union border has had police on alert in the borough, added police.
Shortly after, Officer Dan Hanselmann was patrolling on Stuyvesant Avenue near Tyler Street when he saw a car with an obstructed license plate and thought this car could be involved in the overnight robberies, police said. Adding that the car was observed in the vicinity of where the prior robbery occurred. When the officer saw what appeared to be a rag partially covering the plate, he stopped the car on Stuyvesant Avenue in Union Center.
As Officer Hanselmann got the license plate and attempted to approach the car, the driver drove away from him and headed east on Morris Avenue in the west bound lanes.
Officer Hanselmann began to pursue the car, which he suspected was involved in criminal acts. The driver drove over the center median and continued east on Morris Avenue at a high rate of speed.
The pursuit was ended as the officer entered into Elizabeth after the license plate came back that the vehicle was not reported as stolen and due to the reckless actions of the driver.
Prior to turning around Officer Hanselmann observed that the car had crashed into a bridge and called for medical help for those in the car, which had caught fire.
Union and Elizabeth Fire Departments extricated the occupants.
They were all transported to University Hospital, Newark.
The initial investigation did not connect this car to the prior robberies.
The driver’s license was suspended and one of his passengers told officers they had smoked crack beforehand.
The driver was arrested for eluding. Police in Union and Elizabeth Police are investigating the driver for possible DWI charges.
According to police, one of the passengers is believed to have a broken arm and the other may have a fractured hip.
The driver, identified as Timothy Chambers, 49, of Newark, appears to also have a fractured hip.
His is being charged with eluding the police and received traffic summonses for his actions.
Chambers is under police guard in the hospital.
He was the registered owner of the 2015 gray Chevy Impala, police said.