22°
Iran Iznaga Garabito shoved the domestic violence victim into a Chevy wagon and drove her around for nearly an hour with the child safety locks on before she escaped at the network of ramps that connect highways in Ridgefield Park, authorities said.
The 25-year-old Cuban national then chased her on foot through the grass median and halfway across Route 46 before a Port Authority police officer came upon the scene.
According to witnesses, the PAPD officer seized Garabito at the highway median while summoning medical assistance for the victim around 8:30 p.m.
Garabito was treated at Hackensack University Medical Center, processed at Lyndhurst police headquarters and then sent to the Bergen County Jail late Monday morning, Detective Lt. Vincent Auteri said.
The victim, 27, was also treated before being released, he said.
The incident began with a dispute in the parking lot at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford after the Giants’ 27-13 loss to the Denver Broncos, Auteri said.
Garabito stopped the car for some a reason at the Vermella Lyndhurst Apartments off Orient Way, where “things got physical in the parking lot,” a witness told police.
Garabito then grabbed the victim and shoved her into the back of the wagon before getting behind the wheel and racing off, said the witness, who immediately called 911.
Bulletins were issued to area law enforcement agencies, Auteri said.
The victim apparently got hold of police on her cellphone at some point, but the contact was soon cut off.
Police believe Garabito drove the victim to the George Washington Bridge before heading west.
Soon after, the hero Port Authority police officer had Garabito in custody.
Backup officers found the car abandoned at the ramp to Teaneck and Challenger road.
Garabito awaits a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack on charges that include kidnapping and domestic violence aggravated assault.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Middletown and receive free news updates.
