Stolen Car Chase Ends In Crash: Washington Township Police

LONG VALLEY, NJ - The Washington Township Police are looking for car thieves responsible for sealing, and crashing, at least one vehicle on June 3, according to authorities.

According to police, Corporal Phil Seabeck was at the traffic light at County Routes 517 and 512, waiting to turn left onto Fairmount Road, when a white, four door sedan traveling North on Fairmount Road at an extremely high rate of speed, entered the intersection and abruptly turned left, screeching its tires, and nearly striking the patrol car

Seabeck turned around in the intersection and attempted to stop the vehicle as it traveled towards Califon, police said He closed the distance between his vehicle and the suspect vehicle and attempted to conduct a motor vehicle stop, however the driver of the vehicle ignored all emergency lights and sirens and continued west at speeds over 80 mph, police said.

As the vehicle approached Califon-Cokesbury Road, it attempted to turn left but was unable to make the turn and crashed off the road into the woods, rolling the vehicle onto its left side. The two occupants immediately exited the vehicle and fled into a wooded area nearby, police said.

Multiple surrounding jurisdictions responded to the scene to assist with the search and investigation, including Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office and multiple K9 units, but they weren't found.

The car was eventually removed from the woods and transported to Washington Township Police Department for processing.

Police said the two suspects are believed to be responsible for a stolen vehicle in Tewksbury that occurred later that morning. The investigation was turned over to Detective Scott Myers of the Washington Township Police Department.

"A reminder to all residents, please continue to lock your vehicles and take all items of value inside," police said in a statement. "If you see anything suspicious, contact the police immediately. If you can see a vehicle and get a description, that assists us as we are responding in, but please never put yourself in harm way."

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.