The Belt Parkway turned into a crime drama in real time Thursday evening, as NYPD officers arrested a man on the eastbound stretch in Brooklyn after a high-speed chase tied to a reported kidnapping in Hoboken, New Jersey. New Jersey authorities say the man is wanted for allegedly seizing his girlfriend at gunpoint in Hoboken. Multiple crashes were reported along the pursuit route, including one collision involving an NYPD patrol car, police said.
Officers picked up the suspect’s trail on the eastbound Belt Parkway after the vehicle came off the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and followed it toward the Cropsey Avenue exit. The chase ended with the driver taken into custody near that exit, according to the New York Daily News.
The New Jersey State Police had released a description of a black car and its license plate that helped investigators track the vehicle, according to the New Jersey State Police. Authorities say the man was wanted on a New Jersey warrant alleging he kidnapped his girlfriend at gunpoint in Hoboken, and police did not immediately release his name.
How the chase unfolded
The pursuit reportedly triggered multiple crashes along the Belt Parkway, and police said one of those collisions involved an NYPD patrol car. Ground units coordinated along the route and closed in near the Cropsey Avenue exit, where officers stopped the vehicle and took the driver into custody, per the New York Daily News.
Legal status
After the arrest, the man was held for processing while NYPD and New Jersey authorities coordinated next steps. Charges remained pending, police said. The NYPD has not yet released booking details or a name, and extradition to New Jersey is expected as investigators handle the case, according to the NYPD.
The chase highlights the risks that come with high-speed pursuits on city parkways, where regular motorists and first responders can quickly get caught in the danger zone. Officials routinely weigh public safety when deciding whether to keep a pursuit going, and crashes on the Belt Parkway have previously led to serious injuries and fatalities.
