Teens Crash Stolen Car Into Tractor-Trailer, Police Car In Bergen County: Police

PARAMUS, NJ — Two Bergen County teens were arrested Monday after they crashed a stolen car into a tractor-trailer and a police car on Route 17 while trying to run from police, Paramus police said.

The teens, whose identities were not released, are from Wallington and Hackensack. The driver was 17 and the passenger 16. They have been charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and several other offenses.

The incident happened Monday about 12:30 p.m., Police Chief Robert Guidetti said.

Sgt. Michael Mordaga saw a Hyundai Elantra heading up the aisles in the parking lot of the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, and learned the car had been stolen from Wallington.

The driver spotted Mordaga and left the parking lot, heading south on Route 17, trying "to evade officers by driving on the highway shoulder," Guidetti said.

The car then hit a tractor-trailer, hit a Paramus police car and crashed into the center divider, he said.

Paramus Sgt. Ryan Hayo arrested the 16-year-old passenger. Mordaga, with help from Officer Griffin of the Bergen County Sheriff's Department, caught the driver, 17, after he tried to run out of the passenger door, Guidetti said.

Investigators determined that someone had defeated the car's ignition, and that the teens were driving it using a USB cable. Police found burglary tools inside.

The driver was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a police officer, eluding police, possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and possession of burglary tools. He was also issued motor vehicle summonses.

The passenger was charged with possession of a stolen motor vehicle and possession of burglary tools.