51°
The driver went in to make a purchase at the Valero station on the highway's northbound side shortly after 2:30 a.m. when another car pulled in and two thieves in masks and hoods got out, they said.
The transport vehicle -- a white Infiniti Q50 stolen out of East Rutherford -- and the BMW 8 Series both took off, Paramus Police Chief Kenneth Ehrenberg said.
A short time later, Paramus Officers Michael Mordaga and Nicholas Tanelli spotted both cars speeding south on Route 17, the chief said.
They began to pursue the vehicles and lost sight of them, he said.
Both vehicles exited Route 17 onto the southbound Garden State Parkway at speeds that responders said topped 100 miles an hour before turning off at Exit 147 in East Orange.
The BMW vanished while officers continued to pursue the white Infiniti, which Ehrenberg said contained four thieves in ski masks.
Trapped in a parking lot off of Farrand Street in Bloomfield, the stolen Infiniti driver purposely rammed a Paramus police car in an attempt to escape, he said.
Then all four bailed out.
Mordaga captured one suspect, identified as Tyshad Hawkins, and Bloomfield Officer Anthony Batelli grabbed the other, identified as Jawauan Whitted. Both are 18 from Newark, the chief said.
The other two got away.
A search of the Infiniti turned up several key fobs belonging to other vehicles, Ehrenberg said.
Both Whitted and Hawkins were processed at Paramus police headquarters and released, he said.
Both are charged with possession of a stolen vehicle and eluding police.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Franklin Township and receive free news updates.
