Getaway Attempt Becomes 90 MPH Chase, Say Toms River Police

Running a red was only the start of trouble with the law for a Toms River 21-year-old.

Township police say Jonathan Esteves led them on a 90-mile-an-hour chase along Hooper Avenue in a failed attempt to lose the officer who pulled him over.

A traffic officer spotted Esteves's 1993 Thunderbird shoot through the signal on Hooper at Route 37 at 9:13 PM Thursday night, police said.

Officer Kenneth Thomas's attempt to initiate a roadside stop was cut off when Esteves hit the accelerator and began weaving through northbound traffic on Hooper, escalating beyone 90 mph fo about a mile, police said.

On the right-hand approach to eastbound Bay Avenue, the Ford's tires smacked the curb, launching off the road and into three traffic signs before landing on the grass median, police said.

Estevez faces a charge of eluding along with a flurry of driving violations. He was placed in the Ocean County Jail in default of $25,000 bail.