Passenger Jumps From Moving Car In Morris Co. Police Chase

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A man has been arrested after leading Mt. Olive police on a high-speed car chase, prompting his passenger to jump out of the car mid-pursuit, authorities said.

On Friday, just before midnight, Mt. Olive police noticed a Toyota traveling east on Route 46. A “random inquiry” on the Toyota’s plates found that the car’s registration was expired, police said.

The officer tried to pull the Toyota over, but the driver cut through a gas station parking lot and drove down Elizabeth Lane at “an increasing rate of speed,” according to authorities.

As the officer was chasing the Toyota, he noticed its passenger door had swung open, and someone leaped from the moving car and tumbled onto the roadway.

The officer checked on the passenger, who walked away with minor injuries, as the Toyota sped off out of sight, police said.

Several officers searched the Budd Lake neighborhood and eventually found the Toyota in the Minute Mart parking lot on Netcong Road.

The driver, 62-year-old Stephen A. Parker, of Budd Lake, was arrested without incident.

Parker was charged with eluding police with a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident involving personal injury, failure to report an accident, reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, and unregistered motor vehicle. He was processed and released pending a court date.