HILLSIDE -- Two township police officers sustained minor injuries this morning while rescuing a man from a burning car that he crashed after having allegedly stolen at gunpoint hours earlier in Irvington, authorities said. The officers were slightly hurt after shattering a window to pull the suspect, Shariff Barrett, from the Toyota Camry, which had flipped over and burst...
Hillside police pulled a man from a burning car on Route 22 early this morning, then arrested him for stealing the vehicle.HILLSIDE -- Two township police officers sustained minor injuries this morning while rescuing a man from a burning car that he crashed after having allegedly stolen at gunpoint hours earlier in Irvington, authorities said.
The officers were slightly hurt after shattering a window to pull the suspect, Shariff Barrett, from the Toyota Camry, which had flipped over and burst into flames before 1 a.m. at the Hilldale Place overpass on Route 22, Hillside Police Chief Robert Quinlan said.
Barrett, 39, of Bloomfield, allegedly stole the Camry in a gunpoint robbery earlier that night, then drove into Hillside, where officers spotted the car around 12:45 a.m., and gave chase. Barrett crashed the vehicle following a one-mile pursuit on Route 22, Quinlan said. A police car also sustained minor damage in the accident.
Barrett was arrested and treated at University Hospital in Newark for minor injuries, then taken back into police custody, Quinlan said.