38°
Officers had to break two windows to get Linda Coleman, 30, into custody, Detective Sgt. Mark Wong said.
It was shortly before 3:30 a.m. when Officer Anthony Rivezzi spotted the 2006 Ford Explorer parked in the crosswalk at the corner of Central Avenue and Union Street, the sergeant said.
A computer check turned up an expired registration and suspended driver's license, Wong said.
Officer Matthew Bartlett and fellow officers from East Rutherford converged on the scene to assist, he said.Coleman "refused to provide any form of identification to the officers, claiming there was no wrongdoing," Wong said.
Rivezzi, in turn, asked her and her two passengers to get out because the vehicle would have to be towed, he said.
The officers gave Coleman the opportunity to gather her belongings once the tow truck arrived.
Instead, Wong said, she locked the door, ignored commands to get out and then hit the gas.
The Explorer hit a parked car and Coleman tried maneuvering into a U-turn, forcing the officers to break her front and rear window to stop the vehicle.Coleman resisted, but they pulled her out and placed her under arrest, Wong said.Members of the Carlstadt Volunteer Ambulance Corps treated Coleman for minor injuries, after which she refused further medical attention, the sergeant said.
The officers also were treated at the scene, he said.
Police charged Coleman with eluding and resisting arrest, then released her -- with a handful of traffic summonses -- pending court action on the criminal counts under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Mahwah-Ramsey and receive free news updates.
