3 Stolen Cars Drive Through Manahawkin; Teen Charged: Police

STAFFORD, NJ — A Galloway teenager was charged after Stafford police stopped a stolen car using spike strips.

At about 2:30 a.m. on June 7, police were alerted to three stolen vehicles on Route 72 near the Garden State Parkway, police said.

The cars were heading towards Long Beach Island but when officers tried to stop them, they fled at a high rate of speed back onto the Causeway Bridge towards the mainland, police said.

Stafford Township Master Patrol Officer Marc Povlosky deployed spike strips to disable one of the vehicles which then crashed into a drainage basin near Mill Creek Road, police said.

The driver then fled on foot while officers secured a perimeter around the area, police said.

Long Beach Township police, Ship Bottom police and the Ocean County Sheriff's Department assisted in the search using K9s and drones, police said.

The two remaining stolen cars went back onto the Parkway and the pursuit stopped, police said.

The driver from the crashed car, a 16-year-old from Galloway, was found at about 8:15 a.m., according to police. He was charged with receiving stolen property and taken to a juvenile detention facility.

Investigation to identify additional suspects is ongoing.