A stolen van rammed a Paterson police cruiser and another vehicle before speeding off into the night, triggering a chase that wound from the Lakeview neighborhood to Roberto Clemente Park, where the van got wedged in a fence and its two occupants were taken into custody. The pursuit happened on the night of Sunday, Oct. 11, and resulted in the arrests of two city men now facing an array of charges.
According to northjersey.com, the chase began when officers came across an occupied stolen van on Illinois Avenue at about 10 p.m. Police spokesman Rob Rowan said officers discovered the van sitting on the street before the confrontation escalated quickly.
Rather than stopping, the van lurched forward, striking the police car and another vehicle before fleeing the scene, per the same account. Officers followed as the van entered Roberto Clemente Park, where it ultimately got stuck in a fence near the stairs leading down to Oak Street.
Two Men Caught on Foot in the Park
With the van immobilized, the two occupants tried to make a run for it on foot, but they were caught without incident, authorities said. The chase that started on Illinois Avenue in Lakeview had carried both the van and the pursuing officers across the city before ending among the walking paths of the park.
Jimmy Vazquez, 50, of Paterson, was charged with burglary, receiving stolen property, resisting arrest, eluding, weapons possession, possession of burglary tools, assault on a police officer and criminal mischief, the outlet's report notes. Gabriel Martinez, 30, also of Paterson, faces charges of assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, eluding and weapons possession.
How This Compares to Other Recent Chases
Police pursuits involving stolen vehicles have made headlines elsewhere in the region recently. A December 2025 New Jersey chase involving minors driving a stolen car ended in a three-way crash that left an uninvolved minor in critical condition, according to nj.com. More recently, an NYPD chase reportedly ended in a crash at a North Jersey flower shop, with 35-year-old Marlon Ramoutar arrested and facing multiple charges, the same outlet reported.
A separate 2024 case detailed by ABC7 New York began when officers tried to arrest a group of teens driving a stolen vehicle from Jersey City, a pursuit that left an officer injured and ended with two arrests. New Jersey's statewide vehicular pursuit policy, maintained by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, directs agencies to track outcomes such as accidents, injuries and whether violators were apprehended, with summary findings submitted to the county prosecutor's office.
Details on the extent of any damage from Sunday night's collision in Paterson, along with the status of the stolen van's original owner, had not been disclosed as of this report.
