Teen Arrested After Stolen Car Crash In Westfield (UPDATE)

WESTFIELD, NJ — A 17-year-old from Plainfield driving a stolen car collided with another vehicle in Westfield Thursday afternoon, according to Westfield Police.

Officer Ryan Weiss saw a black 2014 Audi Q5 on Lambets Mill Road approaching the intersection of Rahway Ave. at around 2:07 p.m., according to police. The car was reported stolen out of a Plainfield auto repair shop at around 1:47 p.m. on Thursday where it was left running unattended in the street with its key fob inside, police said.

The officer then attempted to stop the suspect vehicle, but police said the driver, who was wearing a ski mask, immediately tried to flee by making an illegal left turn from the right lane of travel and then accelerated at a very high rate of speed.

The driver then turned right onto West Broad Street from Rahway Ave. and collided with an oncoming vehicle, a 2018 Toyota 4-Runner, traveling in the opposite direction, according to police.

The 17-year-old boy then exited the vehicle and attempted to flee but was caught by officers near the intersection of Downer Street, police said.

The driver was also seen discarding a controlled dangerous substance — suspected crack cocaine — while fleeing, police said.

Both cars sustained disabling damage as a result of the crash. and the other vehicle’s driver, an 18-year-old woman from Westfield, sustained cuts to her face and other non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.

She was treated at the scene by the Westfield Fire Department and was subsequently taken to University Hospital in Newark by Union County Emergency Medical Services. She has since been released, police said.

The 17-year-old boy was served with juvenile delinquency complaints charging the following, all of which were approved by the Union Country Prosecutor’s Office:

• Resisting arrest; eluding officer, a crime of the second degree;
• Obstructing administration of law or other governmental function, a crime of the fourth degree;
• Hindering apprehension, a crime of the third degree;
• Possession of a controlled dangerous substance (suspected crack cocaine), a crime of the third degree
• Receiving stolen property, a crime of the third degree;
• Assault by auto a crime of the fourth degree.

Following his arrest, the 17-year-old was sent to the Essex County Juvenile Detention Center in Newark.

Chief Christopher Battiloro has repeatedly stated that vehicle theft remains one of New Jersey’s most pressing criminal problems.

There have been 16,085 vehicles reported stolen statewide through Wednesday, Dec. 28 – an average of 44 per day – and an 11 percent increase year to-date vs. 2021.

“Persons who carelessly leave vehicles unlocked with their key fobs in them are contributing greatly to the ease with which vehicles are stolen,” stated Chief Battiloro. “And, as this incident so very clearly demonstrates, such actions put not just our officers, but innocent persons, in great danger,” he added.