NEWARK — Minutes after Michael Goines stepped onto his front porch for a cigarette Thursday evening, he heard the roar of an engine coming his way. A red Jeep was speeding the wrong-way down 18th Street in the city’s South Ward. Behind it, but more than half of a block away was a police cruiser, he said. The chase...
View full sizeA Jeep crashed at the intersection of 18th Avenue and 18th Street shortly after Newark police gave up pursuit, hitting three pedestrians.NEWARK — Minutes after Michael Goines stepped onto his front porch for a cigarette Thursday evening, he heard the roar of an engine coming his way.
A red Jeep was speeding the wrong-way down 18th Street in the city’s South Ward. Behind it, but more than half of a block away was a police cruiser, he said.
The chase led to an accident that gravely injured a year-old girl and has put the pursuit under investigation.
Within seconds, Goines said, the Jeep plowed into a red Cadillac in the 18th Avenue intersection, sending the car careening through a crosswalk and into a 40-year-old woman, her 10-year-old son and her one-year-old niece.
After the impact, the Jeep flipped over before landing upside down in front of a convenience store.
The toddler was found on the pavement between the two vehicles, Goines said. The woman slid off the Cadillac’s hood onto the ground, injuring her leg, Goines said. "The first thing she said was, ‘My baby, my baby,’" he said.
The girl was in grave condition at University Hospital in Newark last night, said Essex County Prosecutor’s chief of detectives Anthony Ambrose. The mother and son were treated and released at University Hospital.
Circumstances surrounding the pursuit are being investigated jointly by the county professional standards bureau and the Newark police Internal Affairs Bureau, authorities said.
The pursuing officer is a seasoned veteran who remains on duty, said city police spokesman Detective Hubert Henderson. "The officer has been there before, and knows the guidelines and knows the parameters," he said.
There are specific rules governing police pursuits outlined by the Attorney General, said Wayne Fisher, executive director of The Police Institute at the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice.
Among the factors considered when engaging a pursuit includes whether, "a reasonable belief exists that there is an eminent danger to somebody," he said.
"It is one of the most dangerous activities that police engage in, a danger to them and danger to others," Fisher said. "Police pursuits should be undertaken with great care and (with) a lot attention to the safety of people in the community at large."
Breaking off a chase, he said, does not guarantee suspects will diminish their speed or the danger posed to the public.
Thursday’s chase began when the officer, who was not identified, saw a red Jeep traveling on Avon Avenue near 16th Street. The occupants were suspected of firing a weapon and robbing someone two hours earlier in the North Ward, Henderson said. The officer pursued for several blocks, but stopped the pursuit for safety concerns when he saw the suspects driving erratically, he said.
The last accident in Newark related serious injury resulting from a police pursuit was about a year ago, he said.
Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the ACLU-NJ, said her organization has been looking at the pursuit issue on both a nationwide level and in Newark.
"This is an area that needs some attention," she said. "There may be some training, or greater level of accountability needed on this front."
The juvenile suspects are being charged with multiple motor vehicle violations, weapons, and robbery charges.
Police ask that anyone with information about this incident contact them via the 24-hour "Crime Stoppers" anonymous tip line at 877 NWK-TIPS (877 695-8477) or NWK-GUNS (877 695-4867).