RED BANK: DWI CHARGED AFTER CRASH

red bank policeA Long Branch man faces a drunk-driving charge after crashing into a parked vehicle in Red Bank shortly before dawn Sunday.

Separately, a police pursuit of a vehicle believed stolen in Rumson was terminated early Monday morning, according to Chief Darren McConnell.

• Uriel Lopez-Cruz, 27, was traveling west on East Bergen Place, between Branch Avenue and South Street, when he plowed into a parked vehicle at about 5:20 a.m. Sunday, McConnell told redbankgreen.

Lopez-Cruz, who was not injured, continued on to the intersection of South Street, where his damaged vehicle became disabled, McConnell said.

Patrolman Darren McConnell, the chief’s son, made the arrest without incident and charged Lopez-Cruz with DWI and other motor vehicle offenses.

• At around 1:15 a.m. Monday, Red Bank police became involved in a brief vehicle pursuit of Range Rover suspected to have been stolen in Rumson, McConnell said.

Shortly after receiving a report of the theft, patrols saw  a vehicle matching the description on Broad Street. They  pursued the vehicle into Shrewsbury, and then west on Newman Springs Road to the Garden State Parkway, the chief said.

At that point, the pursuit was terminated by the on-duty supervisor in compliance with pursuit policy, McConnell said, and State Police were notified of last known direction of travel of vehicle.

• During the overnight hours between Saturday and Sunday, a late-model Mercedes Benz GLE was stolen from a driveway on River Road in Red Bank, McConnell said.  The vehicle had been left unlocked with the key fob in the vehicle

McConnell said the theft appears to be part of an ongoing string of high-end vehicle thefts in Monmouth County. Residents are reminded to lock their vehicles and remove their key fobs.

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