Colonia Man with a Truck and a Trailer Leads Several PDs on a Wild Ride Down the Parkway

A Colonia man took several police departments for a wild ride early Saturday morning, when he ran off from police down the Parkway in a truck with a trailer and construction equipment in tow.

were called to a noise complaint at 4:07 am on Nov. 26 in Colonia at the corner of Cavour St. and Patricia Ave. Gene W. Wells, 57, who lives on Patricia Ave., was apparently making a loud racket as he loaded a Bobcat onto a construction trailer.

"He didn't appreciate being told to quiet down," said Captain Roy Hoppock of the Woodbridge Police Dept. 

Wells became so enraged at police efforts to get him to stop making noise that he "slapped the police car with his hand", Hoppock said, then jumped into his 2004 GMC pickup truck with the Bobcat-loaded trailer attached, and sped off northbound on the Parkway with police in pursuit.

Union Township police joined the chase, and attempted to stop Wells at the Union Toll Plaza, said Dan Zieser, police director of Union Township Police Department.

That didn't work.

"As police exited the car and approached him, he started up again and made contact with the police car," Zieser said.

The Union police officer was taken to the hospital to be treated for his injuries in the crash and was released.

Wells turned off the Parkway onto Route 78 westbound with police still in pursuit.

"He had a lot of junk falling off the truck," Zeiser said. Some of the material hit the roadway and sidelined another police car with a flat tire.

At approximately 4:45 am, both the Chatham Township and Chatham Borough police departments were notified of the pursuit, said Chatham Township Lt. Steven Hennelly.

The chase eventually ended at Shunpike Road at the Hickory Square Shopping Center in Chatham when Wells' trailer became "impaled on a divider," Zeiser said. "By that time, there weren't any tires left on it."

Police had to restrain Wells, who still wasn't giving up easily. "He was spitting and fighting," Zeiser said.

Wells was taken into custody by Union Township police and charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and unlawful possession of a weapon, presumed to be the vehicle he was driving, according to Zeiser.

The combined bail for Wells' offenses over several jurisdictions was a total of $200,000, Hoppock said. In Union, bail was set for Wells at $25,000.

Iseult Devlin of Chatham Patch contributed to this report.