State Police released the name Thursday of the man who led them on a 106-mile chase down the Garden State Parkway that sputtered to an end when he ran out of gas in Somers Point.
Fadi Awad, 32, of Bensalem, Pa., was in the Monmouth County Jail on outstanding warrants and charges of eluding police, State Police spokesman Sgt. Stephen Jones said Thursday.
The chase began at about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, when the U.S. Marshal’s Regional Fugitive Task Force tried to stop Awad in the southbound lanes of the parkway at milepost 136.1 in Clark Township, Union County, Jones said. Awad was wanted for theft in Atlantic County, Bucks County, Pa., and Delaware, fraud in Philadelphia and a parole violation in Pennsylvania.
State Police at the Holmdel Station on the parkway said they picked up the chase at milepost 115. At times, the speed exceeded 100 mph, but there were no injuries, police said.
At about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, Stafford police cars with lights flashing sped through the Stafford Business Park entrance to the parkway south ramp to join in the chase. Stafford officers drove onto the parkway southbound and positioned themselves there to assist State Police. They were later called off and did not participate in the pursuit.
After Awad ran out of gas at milepost 28.5 near the Great Egg Harbor Toll Plaza, troopers from the Bass River Station arrested him at 10:12 p.m., State Police said.
State Police spokesman Lt. Frank Davis said Thursday he cannot confirm the speeds reached during the chase, but the troopers have a set of rules to follow to ensure the safety of other motorists on the highway.
“The troopers do use due caution and the follow the (Attorney General’s) guidelines when it comes to pursuits,” Davis said. “It’s always safety first.”
Police across the state had their hands full Wednesday — earlier in the day, a man escaped police custody in Bergen County. Jose Rodriguez, 26, of Bronx, N.Y., fled police Wednesday in Fort Lee, causing an elementary school to be locked down. He was later arrested in Connecticut.
At the time of the Garden State Parkway arrest, police officials put out a scanner alert stating that the man arrested was not Rodriguez.
