Drunk Driver Crashed Stolen Car While Fleeing Gloucester Twp. Police: Authorities

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A drunk driver sped away from Gloucester Township police in a stolen car Thursday afternoon and crashed into another vehicle, authorities said.

Aleesa McIver, of Philadelphia, is also facing charges for weapons and drugs found in the stolen vehicle she drove, police said.

Police first saw the stolen Honda Accord enter the lot at the Howard Johnson hotel, where police were responding to a separate call for service just before 2:30 p.m.

Officers' Automated License Plate Reader alerted them that the car was stolen. As police tried to stop the vehicle, a passenger exited and tried to run into a room while the driver sped back onto the Black Horse Pike, authorities said.

The passenger was quickly detained without incident. Police made no further mention of the passenger or whether they were facing charges.

McIver fled southbound on the Black Horse Pike and drove over the median, police said. When she encountered another police vehicle, she fled northbound on the highway, according to law enforcement.

At that point, police identified McIver and didn't chase the car. But just before 2:45 p.m., she crashed head-on into another vehicle at Station and Roosevelt avenues in the township's Glendora section, authorities said.

McIver fled the scene carrying a duffle bag, but police say they quickly found and arrested her. A search revealed McIver had a revolver-style handgun, four high-capacity magazines for a different handgun, ammunition and prescription narcotics, police said.

The stolen vehicle also had open containers of alcohol, police said.

Crash investigators determined that McIver caused the crash by running a stop sign, authorities said. The other driver was evaluated for minor injuries but refused transport to the hospital.

The crash was near a construction zone, but no one else was injured.

McIver was charged with:

• receiving a stolen motor vehicle
• assault by auto during a crash
• eluding
• hindering apprehension
• possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose
• unlawful possession of a weapon
• possession of a high-capacity magazine (four counts)
• possession of a controlled dangerous substance (three counts)
• possession of drug paraphernalia
• driving while intoxicated

Attorney information for McIver wasn't immediately available in online court records.