Carjacking suspect slams into tree

A man was injured after the stolen car he was driving slammed into a pine tree by the roadside on Beach Road, San Jose, following a brief high-speed chase with the victim and responding policemen yesterday afternoon.

Emergency personnel rushed the suspect to the Commonwealth Health Center. Department of Public Safety spokesman Eric David could not give details on the status of the man as of press time. He described the suspect as Carolinian and estimated his age at 24 to 29.

The stolen green Chevrolet Astro van, with license plate ACG-123, sustained extensive damage to the front and right side. The impact of the crash threw the van’s front right wheel several meters away. After the crash, the van skidded to the outer southbound lane of Beach Road and hit the tail of a passing truck.

Police have yet to file charges against the man.

According to David, the female owner of the car had left the van at the parking lot of Shirley’s Coffee Shop in Garapan around past 3pm to meet with someone inside. The woman, whose name police did not disclose, left the van with its engine and air-conditioning unit running and her two pet dogs inside the vehicle. David said the woman left the driver’s door opened, as she could watch over the van from the restaurant’s glass wall.

Police said the suspect then climbed into the van and drove off with it. The victim and her companion saw the incident and gave chase, using the vehicle of the woman’s companion.

During the chase, the woman called police and kept in constant communication with them regarding the van’s location. Several police vehicles responded to help chase the stolen car, while others blockaded the southbound lane of Beach Road, San Jose. The chase ended with the man driving into the pine tree in San Jose.

Yesterday’s chase followed a similar incident that happened Sunday afternoon, when another stole car’s custodian spotted the vehicle on Beach Road, Garapan, across McDonald’s restaurant.

SAS Moving and Storage owner and general manager George M. Fleming Jr., who was riding his Harley Davidson bike, chased the vehicle that his company was supposed to ship to Korea before it was stolen at the Riviera Hotel’s parking lot about two weeks ago.

Fleming managed to block the path of the black Toyota Highlander on Middle Road, Garapan, prompting its driver to pull over. Police responded to the scene and arrested the driver, a Chinese-looking woman. Fleming said three other Chinese-looking women who sat inside the stolen car as passengers left the scene. Police have yet to disclose the driver’s identity.

Police sergeant Joe Flores of the DPS Traffic Division also sought the public’s assistance in locating a blue Hyundai Sonata car with license plate ABS-675, which was reported stolen at about 3pm last Saturday while parked across the Korea Hardware on Middle Road, Gualo Rai. (with Marconi Calindas)