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Officer Michael Varrechia was on patrol when he saw the driver of the Cadillac sedan cross the double-yellow line to pass another vehicle on Continental Avenue, Police Chief Michael Walker said.
Varrechia pulled the Caddy over on Kinderkamack Road and was walking toward it when the driver hit the gas, the chief said.
The driver -- identified as Lashawn Ray of North Bergen -- hastily made a quick right onto Carol Lane, which is a dead end.
Ray, 26, crashed into the guard rail at the end of the block high above the Central Avenue neighborhood below, then scurried over the retaining wall and vanished.
A perimeter was established with help from a Bergen County Sheriff's K-9 Unit and police in surrounding towns, with no luck.
Detective Sgt. Joseph Zemaites quickly traced the vehicle to the owner and, then, to Ray.
Police nabbed him soon after.
Ray was charged with eluding, hindering apprehension, improper passing, reckless driving, leaving the scene of a crash, failure to report a crash, driving without a license and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle.
He was then released under New Jersey's 2017 bail reform law.
UPDATE: A man under the influence of some type of drug assaulted two people at a popular River Edge liquor store, then caused a scene when he ran into traffic on busy Route 4, authorities said.
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