Woodcliff Lake, NJ cops: Teens broke into home, steered stolen SUV toward officer

WOODCLIFF LAKE — Two teens sped off in a stolen vehicle and tried to crash into a responding officer, after breaking into a home, according to police.

Officers from two towns had to terminate their road pursuit of the suspects due to safety concerns early Wednesday morning.

According to Woodcliff Lake police, a resident's home was "broken into" for the second time in three months. Camera footage from the scene, police said, suggests the criminals are 13 to 16 years old.

Video shared with nj.com shows one of the suspects using a large rock to shatter a glass door. Immediately after one of the suspects kicks the glass, the two individuals run away.

That's when, according to police, the suspects drove off in a 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio, a luxury SUV that had been stolen from another jurisdiction.

"These criminals showed complete disregard for their lives, the public's lives, and the officer's lives as they drove off at a high rate of speed steering their vehicle head on towards the second responding officer," Woodcliff Lake police said in a statement. "Luckily the officer was able to swerve to avoid a head-on collision."

Soon after, Woodcliff Lake officers ended their pursuit. Cops in another jurisdiction located the vehicle and began their own pursuit, but also chose to stop for safety reasons.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in Newark, according to police.

"We are utilizing every technology and investigative technique available to us in an attempt to identify these criminals," Woodcliff Lake police said.

Dino Flammia is a reporter for New Jersey 101.5. You can reach him at dino.flammia@townsquaremedia.com

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