Infant, 2 adults critically hurt in violent Linden crash

🚨Two adults and an infant were critically injured in a crash Monday afternoon.

🚨Surveillance video shows a vehicle spinning down East Linden Avenue

🚨The pursuit of the driver began the day before in Keyport

NOTE: This report was updated with additional details about events that police say led to the crash.

LINDEN — A violent crash on a Union County street left three adults and an infant injured Monday afternoon after a driver refused to stop for police the day before and was pursued by multiple police departments.

Linden police said two of the adults and an infant were critically injured in a crash on the 200 block of East Linden Avenue around 2:45 p.m. A third adult suffered non-life-threatening injuries. All four were taken to University Hospital.

Police pursuit began the day before the crash

Court documents show that Keyport police on Sunday pulled over a Jeep Cherokee driven by its owner, Darryl E. Petlock, 48, of Keansburg. After giving the officer his license, registration and insurance, Petlock was told to exit the vehicle. Instead, he took off at a high rate of speed.

Later that afternoon, a Roselle police officer saw Petlock try to crash the Jeep through the gate of a parking lot at the end of East 11th Avenue in Roselle. When police tried to stop him, he turned around and sped away onto Chestnut Street, where he went through three stop signs, according to the documents.

Petlock turned onto St. George Avenue (Route 27) and continued north. Police broke off their pursuit near Summit Terrace at the border with Elizabeth.

Driver resurfaces the next day

A Flock camera picked up Petlock around 2:40 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Anna Street and Jackson Avenue in Elizabeth, the documents show. When an Elizabeth police officer tried to make a traffic stop, Petlock sped away south on Route 1 through the Bayway Circle.

Police ended their pursuit, but after hearing about the crash in Linden, officers went to the scene and identified Petlock as the individual they had followed.

Approximately five minutes later, a Linden police officer saw the Jeep speeding on Linden Avenue and followed it. Petlock drove into oncoming traffic during the pursuit before crashing into a gray Honda Civic.

Surveillance video captures violent crash

The crash was captured on home surveillance video posted by CBS New York. The video captures the sound of the crash, followed by the Honda spinning along Linden Avenue and losing its front bumper as it slides down the street. A 33-year-old female, a 29-year old male, and a 3-month-old baby were hospitalized with critical injuries.

The Honda narrowly missed a sedan that had stopped to avoid being hit before striking a parked white SUV. The Jeep stopped behind the crash and was also damaged.

Petlock was removed from the vehicle and taken to University Hospital with critical injuries. He was the only person in the Jeep, according to the documents.

A second video shows two marked police vehicles following behind and then stopping at the crash scene with their guns drawn as officers surrounded the SUV. It is not clear from the video what department the officers are with.

John Cieri told News 12 that the SUV hit his red pickup truck, which was hauling a carrier for lawn equipment. Cieri said the driver then went into oncoming traffic and hit a sedan.

Video from the crash scene also shows a white sedan that was struck after another vehicle came to a stop.

Petlock faces more than a dozen charges from four communities including eluding, criminal mischief, assault and aggravated assault, according to court documents.

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