A female occupant of one of the civilian vehicles had to be hospitalized in the wake of the pursuit and crashes early Monday evening, all of which happened in a matter of minutes.
The 2022 Mercedes GLS reportedly was stolen out of Manalapan around 7 p.m. Sunday. It was being tracked via GPS and had apparently been circling Newark before it was identified on Franklin Turnpike in Ridgewood on Monday.
Paramus police were pursuing it around 5 p.m., at speeds of up to 80 miles an hour, when the trio hopped out on southbound Route 17 in Rochelle Park and took off on foot behind Park Avenue BMW.
One was quickly caught near Passaic Street and Marion Avenue in Rochelle Park.
The other two were nabbed by Maywood police on Spring Valley Road a short time later.
Southbound Route 17 rush-hour traffic was jammed with the lane closed in Rochelle Park where the SUV was abandoned. The highway was fully reopened shortly after 6 p.m.
In a frustrating irony, a report of an Audi A8 sedan being stolen from the Tom Sawyer Diner on East Ridgewood Avenue came in as the suspects in the pursuit were being taken into custody. The keys apparently had been left in the car, responders said.
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