Dramatic end to Newark police chase

(Newark- WABC, June 8, 2007) (WABC) -- A robbery in Newark led to a wild police chase and crash early Friday morning.

NewsCopter7 got exclusive video of the chase, as police raced to catch the suspects.

Eyewitness News reporter Stacey Sager has details.

It was the kind of crash you see in an action movie. It began with an armed robbery and turned into a high-speed chase.

The incident began shortly before 7 a.m. on the streets of Newark.

Moments after a woman at the Roseville Avenue bus stop was robbed at gunpoint, witnesses say she jumped on the hood of the fleeing silver car to try to stop the robbers from making off with her purse.

But several minutes later, police say, the suspects drove away and robbed another person on Brunswick Street.

As police tried to catch up with the suspects, the silver car quickly turned left, then smashed into a row of parked cars. The two suspects dashed out as the police cruiser barreled into the silver car.

The suspects kept running, but NewsCopter7 caught up with them. They were seen dodging into a nearby home. But it wasn't long before police caught up with them as well, and the two men were arrested.

Looking back at magnitude of the crash, police say it seems amazing the suspects weren't mowed down. The police officers, who were taken away on stretchers, suffered only minor injuries. They were treated and released from University Hospital.

Brooks Weathersbe, the owner of one of the parked cars, spoke with Eyewitness News after seeing the video of his car smashed by the suspects' vehicle.

"That car, it could take a beating," he said. "But that's the final beating right there."

He and others on the street, which was filled with debris, say they are appreciative of the police department's attempt to nail some dangerous criminals. But they wonder what the expense could have been had things gone worse.

"They really need to do whatever they need to do to protect the public," witness Sabrina Williams. "But at the same time be careful and mindful of people who do live in the city."

The person who was most seriously affected by all of this was the first woman who was robbed. She jumped on the hood of the car and remains in critical condition. Police say they are still searching for two suspects.

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