43°
It began when Officer Nolan Stendor tried pulling over the sedan after it illegally passed another vehicle on Broad Avenue shortly after 9:30 a.m.
The driver, identified as Osvaldo Leader-George stopped on Westview Avenue as Stendor pulled up, Capt. Scott Tamagny said.
He then quickly got back into the Mercedes and sped away, Tamagny said.
The sedan hit a parked car as Leader-George turned onto Glenwood Avenue, but he kept going before crashing in the cul-de-sac (see photo above), the captain said.
Both Leader-George, 27, and his passenger got out and bolted, Tamagny said.
Stendor quickly grabbed the passenger, Danerlis Taveras, 24.
Officers from Englewood, Palisades Park and the Bergen County Sheriff’s Office joined their Leonia colleagues in searching for the driver.
Tamagny said he was on Broad Avenue less than a half-hour later when saw him and took off again after at first attempting to enter a Lyft.
The captain caught up with Leader-George and took him into custody with help from Palisades Park Police Sgt. George Beck and Officer Michael Lee.
Police hadn’t yet determined why the Queens pair ran. The car wasn’t stolen and no warrants on them turned up.
They nonetheless charged Leader-George with eluding and resisting arrest while giving him several traffic summonses. Taveras was charged with resisting arrest.
Both were released pending first appearances in Central Judicial Processing Court in Hackensack.
Click here to follow Daily Voice West Milford and receive free news updates.
