Teen Killed As Car Crashes During Police Chase In Warren

WARREN, NJ — A teen has been charged with vehicular homicide following a police chase and crash that ended in Basking Ridge and left a 14-year-old boy dead, Somerset County Prosecutor Michael H. Robertson announced.

Warren Police responded to the area of Ashwood Court for a report of suspicious persons on Friday around 1 a.m. When they arrived, they saw a vehicle leaving the area of Skyline Drive and tried to stop it, but the car took off at a high rate of speed, Robertson said.

While on Martinsville Road in Bernards Township, the vehicle left the road, overturned and rolled, striking a utility pole. Alexis Pabon, 14, of Newark was ejected and transported to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the report.

The second juvenile, a 17-year-old from Newark, ran away from the crash on foot but was captured a short distance away by officers. He was also transported to an area hospital with injuries and listed in stable condition, according to the report.

It was later found that the vehicle the two juveniles were in was stolen out of Warren Township, according to an investigation by the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office Collison Analysis and Reconstruction Team, Warren Township Police and Bernards Township Police.

Charges have been filed against the 17-year-old juvenile for second-degree death by auto, second-degree eluding, second-degree knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash, third-degree motor vehicle theft and third-degree unlawful taking a means of conveyance.

Warren Police reported an increase in motor vehicle burglaries and car thefts in and around the township over the past few months. (See Related: Car Burglaries On The Rise In Basking Ridge)

Residents are urged to properly secure their motor vehicles and are encouraged to remove key fobs from vehicles when not in use. The cause and manner of death of the 14-year old juvenile is pending an autopsy that will be performed by the New Jersey Regional Medical Examiner Office in Newark, New Jersey.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Somerset County Prosecutors Office Major Crimes Unit at 908-231-7100, the Warren Township Police Department at 908-753-1000, the Bernards Township Police Department at 908-766-1122 or via the STOPit app. The STOPit app can be downloaded to your smart phone for free at the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, access code: “SOMERSETNJ”.

Information can also be provided through the Somerset County Crime Stoppers’ Tip Line at 1-888-577-TIPS
(8477) or online at www.888577tips.org or at www.scpo.net and click on either “Crime Stoppers” or “TIPS HOTLINE”. All anonymous Crime Stopper tips will be kept confidential.

(Image via Shutterstock)

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