Red Bank police subdued a belligerent man on Spring Street this morning after a bizarre spree in which he confronted a passing motorist, stole her car, and crashed it head-on into another moving vehicle, they say.

Joseph Henninger, 26, of Spring Street, is being held on $320,000 bail on charges of carjacking, assault by auto, DWI, reckless driving, criminal mischief and resisting arrest in the incident, which also saw him crash the stolen car into the concrete steps of a house, police say.

According to a department press release, a Little Silver womanand her 16-year-old daughter were driving north on Spring Street at about 7:25a when they came upon Henninger standing in the middle of the roadway and blocking their path. When their SUV stopped, Henninger climbed on top of the hood of this vehicle and began to yell at its occupants.

The woman got out of the vehicle, at which point Henninger jumped off of the hood and climbed into the driver’s seat of the vehicle with the girl still inside the vehicle. Henninger put the car in drive, at which point the daughter jumped from the car.

Henninger then drove the vehicle north a short distance before crashing head-on into a southbound vehicle driven by an Oceanport woman and carrying two passengers from Red Bank. Henninger then drove into the concrete porch of a residence, exited the SUV and tried to enter a delivery truck that was parked in the driveway to a nearby residence, but was unsuccessful, and began to walk from the scene, police say.

Patrolmen Patrick Kennedy and Robert Gannon were first on the scene, and Kennedy subdued Henninger after a brief struggle.

The occupants of the vehicle that Henninger ran into were transported to Riverview Medical Cente by the Red Bank and Little Silver First Aid Squads, as was Henninger. He and the
passengers of the second vehicle were treated and released. The driver of the vehicle remains hospitalized, police say.

Bail was set by Judge Richard A Gantner. At this hour, Henninger was awaiting transfer to the Monmouth County Correctional Institute.

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