2 Police Chases, DWI Crash Reported In Wayne

WAYNE, NJ — In recent weeks, Wayne has seen two DWI arrests and two police chases in the township. The following information was compiled from Wayne Township police department records.

On Nov. 4, at approximately 3:14 a.m., Wayne Police Officers were in the area of Black Oak Ridge Road and Route 23 handling an unrelated call when they heard what sounded to them like a motor vehicle crash.

Officers proceeded onto the highway and saw that a white SUV struck an electrical box at the intersection of Black Oak Ridge Road and Ratzer Road. They then saw the same vehicle leave the scene of the crash by driving southbound in the northbound lanes of Route 23.

Due to the immediate danger the wrong-way vehicle posed to oncoming motorists, multiple Wayne Police officers began to take positions along the highway in an attempt to get the driver to stop and to alert oncoming motorists of the danger.

According to police, multiple attempts were made to stop traffic and get the wrong-way driver back onto the correct side of the highway at intersections, but to no avail.

Officer Anthony Halko drove next to the vehicle on the proper side of the divider and yelled and flashed his lights at the driver to get his attention.

"The wrong way driver looked directly at Officer Halko but continued in his flight. Numerous drivers had to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with the wrong-way vehicle," police said.

Wayne Police Sergeant Erik Ferschman organized the response and authorized Wayne Police Communications to inform New Jersey State Police after the suspect car proceeded the wrong way on Route 80 westbound.

Cops continued to follow and alert approaching cars until the suspect exited Route 80 in the wrong direction onto Vreeland Avenue in Totowa, where officers lost sight of him.

Sergeant Ferschman ultimately located the suspect in his car in a parking lot on Vreeland Avenue.

According to the police, he had turned off the lights and was attempting to hide from officers.

The driver was given field sobriety tests and arrested for driving while intoxicated. He was taken to the neighboring New Jersey State Police Totowa Barracks, where he underwent blood alcohol testing.

The results showed that his blood alcohol content was two and a half times the legal limit, police said.

Jeison J. Pena-Peguero, 37, from Paterson, was charged with second-degree eluding, driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and numerous additional motor vehicle violations.

Pena-Peguero was taken to Wayne Police Headquarters for additional processing.

On Jan. 14, at approximately 11:56 a.m., Wayne Police Officer Trevor Costabile was conducting a traffic stop on Cedar Place when he saw a GMC van being operated erratically.

"Officer Costabile witnessed the van enter and exit a shopping center parking lot at a high rate of speed, leaving tire marks on the roadway," police said.

Costabile tried to follow up with the van as it drove south on Route 23 and turned onto the Newark-Pompton Turnpike. When Costabile got behind the van, he turned on his emergency lights and siren to try to stop it, which the driver ignored and proceeded onto Ryerson Ave.

Wayne Township was under an emergency declaration at the time owing to flooding, meaning that Costabile was unable to apprehend the driver, who took many side streets and ended up in floodwaters on Dorsa Avenue.

Members of the Wayne Police Marine Unit were in the area conducting flood response operations from a high-water vehicle. As police officers moved toward the van, the driver drove deeper into the flood, left the paved roadway, and attempted to drive through a wooded area where the van got stuck.

According to police, residents in the area provided officers with the van driver’s name and address and stated that he had been driving erratically through the flood zone earlier in the day.

Police officers then spoke with the suspect by cellphone when he claimed to be in Kinnelon, but Lieutenant Skylar Cauceglia witnessed him wading through flooded woods while on the phone.

The suspect, Kreg Daviou, 34, from Wayne, was administered field sobriety tests. Officers determined that probable cause existed to charge him with driving while intoxicated.

He was taken to Wayne Police Headquarters, where he refused to provide breath samples for an Alcotest examination.

Daviou was charged on a complaint warrant with second-degree eluding. He was also charged with numerous motor vehicle violations, including driving while intoxicated and reckless driving.

He was then taken to Passaic County Jail pending a detention hearing under bail reform guidelines, police said.