Nathan Wong was arrested on an exit ramp near the George Washington Bridge after GWB traffic stopped his attempt to flee a Teaneck police stop Sunday night. Teaneck police said the 25-year-old from Brooklyn was taken into custody after the vehicle could not keep moving on the bridge-bound ramp.
The stop began around 9:40 p.m. Sunday, when a Teaneck police officer tried to pull over a 2009 Mercedes-Benz with a stolen license plate near Route 4 East and Farragut Drive. Police Chief Seth B. Kriegel said, "The officer attempted to stop the vehicle near Route 4 East and Farragut Drive; however, the driver failed to stop and continued eastbound," before the car turned toward Fort Lee.
Seth B. Kriegel on the stop
Kriegel said the car came to a stop because of congestion near the bridge. He said the vehicle "came to a stop due to heavy traffic" on the exit ramp, ending the pursuit without any stop maneuver from police.
The arrest followed a sequence that moved from a routine traffic stop to a brief chase in Bergen County. The driver allegedly fled after the attempted stop, then ran out of room on the ramp near the George Washington Bridge as traffic stacked up in front of him.
Nathan Wong charges
Wong was charged with second-degree eluding, third-degree receiving stolen property and fourth-degree resisting and obstructing, along with multiple motor vehicle violations. He remained held Tuesday in the Bergen County Jail to await a court hearing.
The case leaves one practical issue at the center of the arrest: why the license plate was stolen. Police tied that plate to the vehicle before the pursuit began, but the stop itself ended only when the ramp traffic prevented Wong from going any farther.
