Jersey City Man Crashed Stolen Truck After Police Chase

NEWARK, NJ — Newark authorities arrested a pair of men from Hudson County on Wednesday after they allegedly stole a tractor trailer, led police on a car chase down Routes 1 and 9, then crashed near Memorial Drive. Both suspects and a Newark police officer suffered minor injuries during the encounter.

According to the Newark Department of Public Safety, a Linden man flagged down a city police officer around 3:30 a.m. in the city’s South Ward and said that two men just broke into and stole his tractor trailer.

Newark officers soon located the stolen tractor trailer and tried to pull it over, but the driver allegedly ignored their orders to stop and continued onto Routes 1 and 9. Eventually, the driver tried to make a U-turn and hit a stop sign, then lost control of the truck near Memorial Drive. The tractor trailer overturned, and police were able to immediately arrest the driver, Omar Ortiz, 36, of Jersey City, and a passenger, David Solomon, 32, of Bayonne.

Emergency responders transported Ortiz and Solomon to University Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. A police officer also suffered a minor injury during the encounter, authorities said.

Police charged Ortiz with Eluding, Theft of a Vehicle and Conspiracy.

Police charged Solomon with Theft and Conspiracy.

Reporting By Eric Kiefer, Patch Staff

Photo: Shutterstock