Police ID driver fatally shot during police chase

RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- State authorities have identified the man who was fatally shot by police following a chase in northern New Jersey.

Kashad Ashford, of Newark, died at a hospital Tuesday morning, several hours after he was shot in Rutherford. A passenger in the SUV was not wounded and was taken into custody at the scene.

Authorities say the 23-year-old Ashford was driving a stolen sport utility vehicle that was being sought in connection with the attempted burglary of another vehicle. The chase ended around 2:25 a.m., when the SUV struck a guardrail on Route 3.

Police positioned their vehicles around the SUV in an attempt to apprehend its occupants, but the driver allegedly put the vehicle in reverse, spinning its tires until the roadway filled with smoke. The driver was shot after he allegedly backed the SUV at the officers, ramming a police vehicle

Authorities say a loaded .357-caliber Magnum handgun and a ski mask were found in the SUV.

A state trooper and police officers from Lyndhurst and Rutherford were involved in the chase, but their names have not been disclosed. Authorities also have not said if some or all of the officers fired their weapons.

A passenger in the SUV, Jemmaine Bynes, 30, of East Orange, was not injured in the shooting and surrendered to authorities at the scene. No officers were injured in the pursuit or the shooting.

Bynes was charged with receiving stolen property and several weapons offenses. He was being held on $100,000 bail and it was not known if he had retained an attorney.

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