Police manhunt, chase ends with crash in Montclair; Clifton, Verona officers injured

By ERIN ROLL
roll@montclairlocal.news

At least three police officers - two from Clifton and one from Verona - were injured in a series of events that ended with a car crash in Montclair on Thursday, July 20.

Alex Kashani, 24, of Clifton, was arrested after he led police on a motor vehicle pursuit through Clifton and Montclair before crashing on Gordonhurst Road.

Clifton Police Lt. Robert Bracken said on Tuesday that Kashani had been wanted on suspicion of fleeing from Verona police.

The events leading up to the chase began when a Verona police officer was injured while trying to conduct a motor vehicle stop.

Verona Police Capt. Stephen DePoe said that the Verona officer had attempted to reach into the vehicle to stop it, but the suspect started the vehicle and drove it back and forth.

The officer sustained minor injuries, mainly abrasions, and was taken to Mountainside Medical Center for treatment, DePoe said.

Bracken said that the Verona police had sent out a BOLO with the vehicle’s description, and that Clifton police spotted it in a driveway on Mount Prospect Avenue in Clifton.

The vehicle rammed a Clifton police car and led police on a chase through Clifton, sideswiping another vehicle in the process, before crossing into Montclair, where it rammed another Clifton police car. There, the vehicle traveled along Bellevue Avenue and Park Street before colliding with a parked vehicle on Gordonhurst Road.

The pursuit ended there, and Kashani was apprehended at the scene.

The Montclair Police Department later arrived and provided assistance at the scene.

Bracken said that two Clifton police officers were injured in the pursuit. There were no reports of injuries to bystanders or other drivers, he said.