NJ man who led police in cemetery car chase charged with attempted murder

Authorities have filed charges against a South Amboy man who led police on a motor vehicle pursuit through a cemetery Wednesday and ran into an officer, who fired a single shot at the suspect.

Jeffrey W. Troxell, 49, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, and two counts of eluding police, according to the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.

The incident occurred Wednesday when Troxell, who was driving a 2002 Honda Accord, allegedly ran a red light in New Brunswick around 11:18 a.m. and fled when a Rutgers University Police Department officer attempted pull him over. The Rutgers officer broke off the pursuit when the driver fled, at which point Piscataway police saw the car on Hoes Lane and followed him in an attempt to make a motor vehicle stop. Authorities say Troxell then made a turn into Resurrection Cemetery.

According to police, the driver circled several headstones before his car “became mired in the soil.” Authorities say no one was hit by the single shot that was fired by the officer. Troxell was apprehended through the use of a conducted energy device, authorities said.

The prosecutor's office says at one point a Piscataway officer was struck by the defendant's vehicle. The officer was transported to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital were he was treated and later released. Troxell was also treated at a local hospital for a minor injury, police said.

Bail for Troxell was set at $150,000.

Police are continuing the investigation and ask that anyone with information call Detective Craig Marchak of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at 732-745-3300.

Toniann Antonelli is a social content producer for NJ 101.5. She can be reached at toniann.antonelli@townsquaremedia.com, or on Twitter @ToniRadio1015.