Vehicle crashes on NJ parkway; the driver dies in a shootout with police while 1 officer is wounded

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) — A vehicle reported stolen crashed on the Garden State Parkway following a police pursuit, and the driver was killed in an exchange that also wounded an officer, authorities.

The state attorney general’s office said Cranford police officers were pursuing the vehicle late Thursday night when it crashed in Woodbridge in the area of a southbound exit of the parkway.

Officials said the driver and two officers exchanged gunfire, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene a few minutes after midnight. His name wasn’t immediately released. A firearm was recovered near the driver.

State authorities said one officer sustained a nonfatal gunshot wound and was treated at a hospital and later released. Cranford Chief of Police Ryan Greco said in a Facebook post that both officers were taken to University Hospital for treatment and said “both are home recovering.” He thanked the community for “the outpouring of thoughts and prayers.”

The attorney general’s office, required by law to probe deaths occurring during encounters with police, is handling the investigation. NJ.com reported that a badly damaged white van was towed from the scene early Friday.

Gov. Phil Murphy said in a social media post, “Our men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. We are praying for the officer’s swift recovery.”

Pat Colligan, president of the New Jersey State Policemen’s Benevolent Association, said in a Facebook post that the wounded officer “will make a full recovery.”

“We’d like to implore people being pursued by police to just pull over,” Colligan said, according to WABC-TV.