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A patrol officer tried pulling over the vehicle after it repeatedly crossed over the dotted line and alternately sped up and slowed down on westbound Route 3 shortly before 1:30 a.m. Thursday, Sgt. Robert Anderson said.
The car eventually stopped in the right lane, prompting the officer to tell the 16-year-old driver on his PA system to pull it to the shoulder, Anderson said.
The teen hit the gas instead, accelerating onto Allwood Road, he said.
He eventually turned onto Bloomfield Avenue before crashing in the 1100 block, Anderson said.
The 17-year-old passenger bailed out but was found hiding in a nearby Dumpster by a backup Clifton officer. He was carrying marijuana and drug paraphernalia, Anderson said.
A Passaic County sheriff's officer took the driver into custody, the sergeant said.
As it turned out, the car "is registered to a resident at the home where the driver lives, but he was operating it without the consent of the owner," Anderson said.
Both teens were issued juvenile complaints charging them with auto theft. The driver also was charged with theft and the passenger with resisting arrest and possession of pot and drug paraphernalia.
They were each released to family members pending closed-door hearings in the Family Part of Superior Court in Paterson.
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