Law enforcement officials say a wild car chase that began in Marbletown Tuesday night and left car parts scattered on the streets of Kingston ended on Route 28 in Glenford when an Ulster County sheriff’s deputy shot the driver.
Authorities Wednesday weren’t releasing many details of the incident, which began around 10:40 p.m. Tuesday, April 15 when a Marbletown resident reported that a vehicle had been stolen from her driveway. Troopers responding to the call spotted the vehicle on Route 213. When officers attempted to initiate a traffic stop, police said, the driver sped up. Troopers pursued the vehicle into the City of Kingston where the driver successfully evaded capture. A short time later, Ulster County sheriff’s deputies caught sight of the vehicle, touching off another chase through the streets of Kingston. At one point, according to witnesses, the speeding car crashed through a fence and drove across the lawn at Family of Woodstock’s Darmstadt homeless shelter on Thomas Street.
“He drove right through the fence, you can see the tire tracks across the lawn,” said shelter director Liz Bahr, who learned of the incident the next morning. “Then I guess he went over the curb and just kept going.”
During the pursuit, according to Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright, the suspect ran through several police roadblocks and continued to flee even after his tires were shredded by police spike strips. The pursuit ended on Route 28 in West Hurley when the suspect allegedly swerved into an Ulster County sheriff’s vehicle forcing both cars off the road. The suspect, whom police did not identify, was shot by a deputy while being taken into custody. Carnright declined to comment on whether police recovered a gun in the incident. Carnright said that the suspect was transported to Albany Medical Center where he underwent surgery and remains in intensive care.
Ulster County Sheriff Paul VanBlarcum said in a prepared statement that he had asked the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations and Forensic Investigations Unit to probe the incident and pledged full cooperation with the investigation. Carnright said that he expected criminal charges to be filed against the driver. Carnright added that, following the conclusion of the state police investigation, an Ulster County grand jury would weigh whether the shooting was justified.