The attempted car theft Sunday night didn’t go exactly as planned.
Just after midnight, Verona Police Department Officer Brian McMahon responded to a call for assistance from the North Caldwell police about a stolen vehicle. McMahon found it parked on Hilltop Drive and called for backup.
Officer McMahon and fellow officers Joe Pami and Shane Daly–who just joined the VPD just before Christmas–approached the car and the driver attempted to speed away in the car. It hit several parked cars and then went over a retaining wall. The car fell about 21 feet, narrowly missing a home and another parked car below.
The driver managed to free himself from the wreckage and ran away, but was ultimately apprehended by Officer Robert Maguire and officers from from other police department on the scene. Officer Pami found a female who had apparently been a passenger near the wrecked vehicle. Verona Sgt. Brendan Huber also responded to the scene, and after further investigation, both individuals were turned over to North Caldwell.
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“As a reminder to residents, please remember to lock your vehicles and remove the key fob,” the VPD said in an Instagram post. “This video is an example of how brazen and reckless these car thieves are in avoiding apprehension.”
