Tewksbury Police Arrest Man Following Car Chase

TEWKSBURY, MA -- A Tewksbury Police detective was nearly hit by a man who threw his car into reverse and rammed a police cruiser during a traffic stop Wednesday. Jairo Samuel Andujar, 26, of Lawrence, then put the car into drive and nearly hit another Tewksbury Police car before fleeing. Police eventually caught him on Interstate 495 following a brief chase.

Andujar was released on $5o following his arraignment in Lowell District Court Thursday. He was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon to wit a motor vehicle, assault with a dangerous weapon (the motor vehicle upon a police officer), failure to stop for police, reckless operation of a motor vehicle, possession of a false/stolen RMV document (2 counts), identity fraud (5 counts), false identification information to law enforcement, misleading a police investigation, and numerous motor vehicle violations.

Andujar, a Dominican National, initially gave police a different name when he was being booked. He eventually admitted that he had bought the stolen identity of a Puerto Rican man for $800 in New York when he arrived in the U.S. in May. He then used those documents to obtain a Massachusetts driver's license.

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Photo by Tewksbury Police.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).