Woman In Stolen Truck Leads Cops On Chase In Essex County: Police

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Police apprehended a Kearny woman after she allegedly led an officer on a car chase on Tuesday in Essex County. Several agencies – including police in Cedar Grove, Montclair and West Caldwell – collaborated to make the arrest, authorities said.

The incident involved a pickup truck reported stolen from Belleville, police said.

According to the Cedar Grove Police Department, the incident took place around 5 p.m., when officer Raymond Cassella received a radio broadcast from Montclair police, who said they had broken off their pursuit of a Dodge Ram pickup truck.

Montclair police relayed the message that the truck was last seen entering Cedar Grove in the area of East Bradford Avenue. Here’s what happened next, authorities said:

“Ptl. Cassella located the vehicle on the border of Verona. He attempted to stop the vehicle, at which point the operator sped away eluding him. Cassella briefly pursued the vehicle, however the pursuit was then terminated due to public safety. A short time later, West Caldwell police reported that they had located the vehicle abandoned on the side of the road, as well as a female nearby matching Cassella’s description of the operator. Cassella responded to West Caldwell and placed the driver under arrest.”

At the time of her arrest, the driver, Vanessa Shaarawy, 36, of Kearny, was in possession of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. She also had an outstanding warrant from the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, police said.

Shaarawy was also in possession of jewelry that was determined to be proceeds from a vehicle burglary in Dunnellen, police said.

Authorities charged Shaarawy with other offenses including receiving stolen property, eluding and reckless driving. The stolen vehicle and jewelry were both returned to their owners, and Shaarawy was transported to the Essex County Correctional Facility in Newark, police said.

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