Police Chase Of Stolen Car Ends In Crash, 6 Arrests In Union County

UNION, NJ — Six people were arrested after a police chase through Union and Essex counties on Tuesday.

On Tuesday at about 12:55 p.m., members of the Union Township Police Quality of Life (QoL) unit were patrolling on Route 22 and saw a car speeding.

Officers checked the license plate and discovered it was a 2017 Acura MDX that was reported stolen earlier in the day in Belleville, said police.

The driver of the stolen car increased his speed and officers tried to stop the car, but a pursuit began, said police.

The stolen car drove around various streets in Union, Hillside, Irvington, and Newark before it crashed on Lyons Avenue in Newark. The SUV flipped over and landed on its roof.

A total of five juveniles and one adult were arrested.

One of the juveniles had a minor leg injury and was taken to a hospital before being processed at headquarters. Two other motorists at the crash scene had a complaint of pain, but no serious injuries.

Found inside the flipped-over SUV was a woman’s purse, credit cards, and items belonging to other people. It appears these are all stolen property, said police.

All of the occupants were charged with possessing the stolen car.

The arrested adult is Ahzir Williams, 19, from Newark. He was identified as the driver and will receive numerous tickets for his actions. He is wanted in Passaic and Somerset Counties for auto theft-related crimes.

He was also charged with eluding the police and assault for the injuries to the motorists after the pursuit. He was sent to the Union County Jail.

The juveniles were released to family members except for one, who was wanted for a shooting in Newark. Detectives from Newark Police came to headquarters and took custody of him.

Another juvenile had stolen credit cards in his possession. Detectives will investigate these cards as well.

"Our officers are working hard to keep our residents safe. We have extra officers patrolling during the holiday season," according to the Township of Union NJ Police Department. "We also had a pursuit of a stolen car on Monday that was stopped due to the stolen car being operated in a dangerous manner in town."

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